Chapter 128
Chapter 128
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 128
Following behind Leila, they arrived at the depths of the temple.
The sky of Atlantis, resembling the Milky Way, softly illuminated all directions.
Leila went to her usual spot where she always knelt in prayer and sat demurely, while Seo-jin also sat in the chair across from her.
Leila prayed for a moment.
Pat-.
Leila, who spent most of her daily life with her eyes closed, slowly opened them.
And a sacred light swirled in her previously empty pupils.
Then, through Leila's mouth came an unfamiliar voice.
"Climber, I express my gratitude to you."
Not the voice of a young girl they always heard, but a majestic and polite androgynous voice.
The Sea God Pontos had possessed Leila.
Seo-jin suddenly posed a rude question to Pontos, who had borrowed Leila's body.
He hadn't been particularly friendly toward divine beings from the start, and he held grievances against Pontos for leaving the Sea Folk to suffer all this time.
"Gratitude? Instead of that, why don't you intervene directly? Why did you just watch?"
If Pontos had manifested directly in this land, there would have been no need to struggle so hard, and the Sea Folk who sacrificed themselves in the process would have been greatly reduced.
Pontos answered with a smile, as if he had expected this question from Seo-jin.
"That's because it's the right direction."
"The right direction?"
Pontos raised his head to look at the sea beyond the glass window and said:
"A god is a being who watches over the people, but doesn't cherish and care for them like hothouse flowers."
Warm sunlight and gentle spring breezes are good, but sometimes trials and hardships are necessary.
When they go down the wrong path, instead of unconditionally protecting them, it's right to allow them to experience harsh storms and hardships.
This too is part of the process for the people to move toward the right path.
Even if that process is painful and agonizing, greater growth will come at the end.
He was like a stern father disciplining his child.
Pontos said while looking at the sea with his hands clasped behind his back:
"Of course, that growth might differ depending on perspective. Then let me ask you this: Is the civilization that you humans have achieved truly 'growth' in the real sense?"
"......"
At his question, Seo-jin couldn't easily answer.
Of course, humanity had 'progressed.'
The civilization that began with fire found where lightning had struck had now uncovered the principles of lightning and advanced beyond the sky into space.
But if you ask whether that was growth of the human species, it's difficult to answer.
Humans still easily envy and are jealous of others, and this selfishness becomes more cruel as groups grow larger.
Madness spreading like wildfire drives humanity into the whirlpool of war, and even now, those groaning in that pain overflow.
They just dress up and pretend to be noble, but humanity's evil nature hasn't changed even a bit from primitive times to now.
However.
'Humanity has definitely changed.'
Even if their nature remains the same, the phenomena have certainly changed.
Moving beyond the primitive era when it was a war of all against all, they've reached the present where norms and law govern society.
Breaking free from the past when they treated each other as slaves, they've become beings who respect the value of differences, at least on the surface.
Even within their wicked selfishness, there were definitely those throughout history who cried out to love one another.
The process of change that overcomes that evil nature would be growth.
Seo-jin opened his mouth.
"What's important is the process."
"Yes! You've hit it exactly."
Pontos clapped his hands and continued:
"I am not a convenient being who solves all the problems and hardships of the Sea Folk. Rather, I am a being who watches and cheers on the process of their growth. That is my role. That is the 20th floor administrator, Sea God Pontos."
"......"
Perhaps the reason Pontos doesn't drive Leviathan from this sea lies there too.
He is a being who brings storms and tempests. He's like a symbol of trials and hardships living and breathing in this world.
That clear yet fascinating existence of evil would be a kind of catalyst that torments the Sea Folk and makes them grow even more.
Thus, Pontos, while seeming indifferent, is watching his people and showing interest in them.
'He's not a simple bystander, but like a father following behind a child riding a bicycle for the first time.'
Is that the role of a god that Pontos thinks of?
"And thanks to you stepping forward, there was no need for me to act. Rather, if I had stepped forward, you wouldn't have had a chance to be active, would you? Haha."
Pontos responded playfully.
At this, Seo-jin slowly nodded.
"Among the gods I've met so far, you're relatively normal."
"That might be so. Most beings with divine status are capricious."
After that, Seo-jin asked about the capricious divine beings and whether those beings were worthy of being called gods.
The answer that came back was simple.
They were merely granted the authority needed as administrators, not truly gods in the real sense.
A management system that is neither omniscient nor omnipotent. That is the general divine status like Pontos.
"Still, I believe. Not in incomplete systems like us, but that somewhere there exists a truly complete and perfect providence of creation. I don't know if it's personal, but it would be a truly omniscient and omnipotent god."
"Is there a reason you believe that?"
"Well."
Pontos looked at the sky of Atlantis beyond the window and said:
"This isn't a logical reason. It's a personal wish and belief. If this world just came into being by chance, and all living beings are merely systems for survival, wouldn't that be too empty?"
He then added that all beings need faith, and the life of a being that believes in nothing would only be empty and unhappy.
Drip-.
As they continued their conversation, blood suddenly trickled down from the nose of Leila, whose body he had borrowed.
Borrowing her body any longer would be a great burden on Leila.
Pontos prepared to end the conversation, swallowing his regret.
"Before I leave, I'll bestow a blessing as a gift. However, the blessing I can directly bestow is not very great. It's only possible within what causality allows. I consumed much causality preventing your power from being witnessed by other great beings."
"Mm."
Earlier, when fighting Leviathan, he had used Transcending Heaven True Scripture several times in front of tens of thousands of Sea Folk.
As many have recognized this, many great beings must have shown interest in Seo-jin's magic.
But it seems the 20th floor administrator Pontos reduced that repercussion as much as possible on his end.
Flash-.
Pontos stretched his hand toward Seo-jin.
Brilliant light burst forth and enveloped Seo-jin.
"I bless your path ahead."
Pontos's blessing wrapping around Seo-jin.
Thanks to Pontos's blessing, Seo-jin became able to freely walk through the sea without any measures.
This was similar to the function of Aquamarine, but there was the decisive difference that the effect was permanent.
Moreover, those who possess Pontos's blessing gain the favor of all marine life.
Finally, they gain strong resistance to all water-attribute attacks.
For Seo-jin, this last effect was most useful.
Having bestowed the blessing, Pontos hurriedly left before Leila's nosebleed could worsen.
"Then I look forward to the day we meet directly, Climber. At a higher place."
***
A week later.
Association President Han Seo-hee visited the 20th floor with her secretaries and completed the Neptune mine development contract.
However, since public opinion toward foreigners wasn't very good due to Darkrock, they decided to proceed slowly with the development.
Actually, Seo-jin's contribution was decisive in this contract being concluded.
If Seo-jin hadn't shown himself defeating the marine monsters and sealing Leviathan.
And if he hadn't newly created the Tears of the Sea God and restored Atlantis's barrier.
Beyond the royal family's isolation order, the Sea Folk might have voluntarily driven out the foreigners.
Han Seo-hee, who had completed the contract with the royal family, also shook hands with Seo-jin, who had stood with the Sea Folk.
"I express my gratitude. Thanks to you, it will be a tremendous help to the association's finances."
Han Seo-hee also knew well the value of Neptune ore. Although it's still only in the development stage, she'd heard its future value was beyond imagination.
"Well, gratitude is unnecessary. From your position, it's just more work."
If the association develops and grows, Han Seo-hee herself becomes that much more troubled.
At the words carelessly uttered, Han Seo-hee's eyes gleamed coldly.
"Let's not talk about that. I was trying to forget it."
Those eyes contained not only the sorrow of deep troubles but even thick killing intent.
Seo-jin felt even a bit of fear and stepped back slightly.
Han Seo-hee chuckled at that sight and said to Seo-jin:
"Oh, and we found that orphanage you mentioned. The association safely delivered them, so the children will be safe."
She seems to have found Darkrock's orphanage where Francesca's successors were staying.
This should put Francesca at ease too.
"But the number wasn't small. It seems like there are hundreds."
"Hundreds."
He'd heard that in exchange for not conducting assassination education to raise them as corporate hunting dogs, Francesca supported them all with her own money.
Since the family she had to feed numbered in the hundreds, he could understand why she, who made a name as the industry's top phantom thief, complained about money so much.
Han Seo-hee asked:
"We could send them to a shelter managed by the association. What should we do?"
"I'll handle that myself."
Even if the association treated them well, it would only be at the level of a state-managed public orphanage.
Moreover, they couldn't accept hundreds at once, so the children would definitely be scattered here and there.
It would be better for the children if Francesca continued to support them as before.
There would be no need for them to be separated from each other either.
"I understand. But......"
Han Seo-hee nodded as if she understood, then approached Seo-jin closely and whispered:
"It's good that you're active, but if you continue moving like this, your personal safety might become dangerous. This time you touched Darkrock's side, didn't you?"
Han Seo-hee worrying about Seo-jin's safety.
Seo-jin was also aware of the danger that the aftermath of this incident would bring.
After devastating Hanseong and then Darkrock, it wouldn't be strange if a dedicated assassination team was assigned to Seo-jin afterward.
Seo-jin asked playfully:
"Why, won't the association protect me?"
"How can we protect someone whose identity is secret? If you're scared, come forward publicly."
Since he's already become a target, Nova's anonymity is only an obstacle to security.
Rather, if he came forward to the media and public like Sword Star, they would find it difficult to openly touch him.
That way, it would also be easier to protect him at the national and association level.
Seo-jin shrugged.
"Never mind. The association's security isn't that trustworthy either."
"Well, that's true."
Even at Seo-jin's words that seemed to distrust the association, Han Seo-hee didn't argue.
She knew better than anyone that there were more than a few within the association who cooperated with corporations.
Rather, for safety, it would be better to create many people who would work with Seo-jin.
No matter how outstanding someone is, if they move alone, they're easy to eliminate, but if multiple team members move together, the story changes.
Seo-jin asked about So-yul's whereabouts.
"Your sister?"
"She happens to be outside. Go meet her."
***
"So, we need to form a team."
VIP room inside the temple.
Seo-jin declared the formation of a new team to Han So-yul, Kim Se-yeon, the Nam-gung siblings, and Francesca hiding in the corner of the VIP room who had gathered here.
He said he would form a new team to counter corporate checks and rival the current strategy teams.
Han So-yul asked:
"Then you're going to stop climbing the tower alone now?"
"That's right. The environment has changed, and external checks have increased."
The situation had become difficult for Seo-jin to handle everything alone.
If it were just about quickly climbing the tower, being alone wouldn't matter, but that wasn't what Seo-jin wanted, and when large-scale quests like this Atlantis incident occurred, it was insufficient for him to handle alone.
'The current achievements were possible because of cooperation from multiple people.'
As they climbed higher floors, it would only increase, not decrease.
In addition, as mentioned earlier, corporate checks were about to intensify.
He couldn't block all their attacks alone. He didn't have the leisure to worry about such trivial problems either.
So he needed a trustworthy team.
People who could be trusted to watch his back, strong enough to withstand corporate checks, and talented enough to match current strategy teams.
A new team composed of such people.