Chapter 378: Technology Research Institute (1)
Chapter 378: Technology Research Institute (1)
The conversation continued, leaving me behind to enjoy the scenery with poetic grace.
It wasn’t that I was eavesdropping out of interest. It was simply that the voices happened to resonate within the vehicle.
To summarize the content: it was a method of carving patterns into an opponent’s body through wounds, or using brushes and talismans to draw a "form" that induces errors within their system.
No matter how much I listened, I couldn't help but wonder, Is that even possible? But then again, high-ranking martial artists move with the precision of fine machinery. If they set their minds to it, it probably was.
Of course, I hadn't trained my "forms" to that extent, nor did I have any reason to. It was an acrobatic feat far beyond my repertoire.
However, for now, it remained strictly in the realm of theory.
Apparently, when the Heavenly Sword himself tried to demonstrate this, carving four or five such patterns into the unmoving ground took less than a second. Yet, when it came to carving them onto another person’s body, even the Heavenly Sword failed unless there was a massive gap in skill.
If the angle was off by even a fraction, the pattern became nothing more than a meaningless wound.
The human body is naturally curved, and the location of meridians varies from person to person. Even professional tattooists take a long time to ink a design. So, even if the "form" was designed with the intent to break things from the start, pulling it off in the heat of battle was incredibly difficult.
Surprisingly, however, this problem had been somewhat resolved.
Originally, these issues had been researched by martial artists ever since tattoos first appeared—long before the magic side began researching the use of internal power. The method had eventually been discarded for various reasons, including the ones mentioned.
But by utilizing parts of the Internal Interference Magic School’s theory, they had succeeded in establishing it much more simply.
They had optimized patterns that once required nearly 200 strokes down to 40 or even 30. There was even talk that once the research was complete, they might reduce it to 20 strokes.
The failure the Heavenly Sword had demonstrated earlier was based on the old 200-stroke method. With the new 30-to-40-stroke method, the success rate had jumped significantly—to about ten percent during spars between the Heavenly Sword and the elders of various sects.
Still, difficult was difficult, so the story ended with the remark, "The possibility has been seen."
"…I see."
Once the explanation concluded, Han A-bin nodded quietly.
"Did you enjoy the story?"
The agent-cum-driver asked, his voice brimming with satisfaction at her reaction.
"Yes, it was a very interesting story. Thank you for sharing it with me."
Han A-bin expressed her gratitude politely, but I saw something else behind her words.
What she just uttered was merely a reflexive response to the conversation. Han A-bin had already fallen into a deep well of thought triggered by the theory she’d just heard.
"…Form. Flow. Meridians and pressure points that don't biologically exist, yet are there…"
She whispered so softly that no one else could hear.
I had a bad feeling about this.
She wasn't cooking up another strange idea, was she?
In the past, I used to be more afraid of what kind of trouble Baek Si-hyun would get into. But as time passed, I realized that while their directions were different, both of them were equally headache-inducing.
Baek Si-hyun was like a bouncy ball, flying all over the place and breaking things.
Han A-bin was more like someone quietly digging a hole and disappearing into the earth.
Total sensory deprivation, a squad-scale tactical network using telepathy… these weren't the kind of results a person with a normal mindset would reach.
Still, she was a good kid at heart… so nothing too weird would come of it, right?
As I tried to soothe my anxiety with that thought—
"…Blood."
…An ominous word escaped Han A-bin’s lips. I did my best to ignore it.
I must have misheard.
How could I, as a master, stop my disciple from growing stronger?
Surely, I just misheard "Pa" or "Peu" as "Pi."
I don't know what "Pa" or "Peu" would be, but…
It definitely wasn't "blood."
* * *
Perhaps because the ice had been broken by the talk of martial arts, various idle conversations continued even as the vehicle left the road to traverse rough terrain.
In the meantime, I had to knock out Baek Si-hyun about three more times as she kept waking up and trying to throw a fit.
"Ah, we’re almost there."
At the agent’s sudden remark, I looked straight ahead.
A long stretch of barbed-wire fence came into view.
It was a common sight, plastered with warning signs. The way the fence enclosed a specific area in a square or circle was also standard.
However, the landscape inside the fence was anything but common.
The land we had been driving through was desolate, bordering on a desert. But the land partitioned by the fence felt like the very definition of "abundance."
Inside the fence, lush, water-fed grass spread wide, clean white buildings stretched endlessly, and even birds could be seen flying through the air.
It was a landscape that lacked any sense of continuity, as if a completely different world had been stitched onto the border of the fence.
"…What is that?"
Han A-bin spoke up, looking bewildered by the bizarre sight.
"The Technology Research Institute. I’m not sure which branch."
I calmly named our destination.
"It is Branch 02."
The agent-cum-driver provided a supplementary explanation to my vague answer, but his response only raised more questions for me.
…Hm? Branch 02?
The Technology Research Institute’s branches were older and more important the closer they were to zero. Excluding the outliers like 00 and 01, wasn't this essentially the top branch?
I just wanted to see Calavera and check out some random research lab in the US. Why are we here?
Shouldn't there be a Branch 51 or something?
No, more importantly.
"Branch 02 shouldn't be here, should it?"
Branch 01, the most important lab, was in the US—the technological powerhouse. But for political reasons, wasn't Branch 02 definitely in Europe?
"That is old information. Branch 02 is. Right. Here. Now."
…How?
A branch isn't some studio apartment; is it even possible to move across continents so casually?
And there was no reason to do so in the first place.
Just as I was trying to recall the Branch 02 in my memory to compare it with the lab before my eyes—
"Oh dear."
With the agent’s short exclamation—
Screeeeeech!
The entire vehicle shuddered.
The car drifted violently as the driver slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel.
By performing a maneuver a high-speed vehicle in the wilderness should never do, the centrifugal force threw everything inside to one side. And we, who had been enjoying a comfortable trip without wearing seatbelts—
"Huk-kyah!"
"Kyaak!"
—were slammed to the side, realizing the vital importance of seatbelts.
After causing such a disaster, one would hope he’d stop the rampaging vehicle and explain the situation.
"Tsk."
But the agent behind the wheel ignored our safety, immediately flooring the accelerator and rapidly speeding up the car.
"What the…?"
Unlike the two of us, who were gripping handles and headrests to prevent another disaster, Baek Si-hyun—who had been sleeping all day and only just woken up from the drift—couldn't withstand the force and slammed her head into the front seat.
"What? What is it? Where did my custom-made, quantum-transcendent, parallel-observing, infinite-capacity, permanent-backup, bulletproof, safe, lightweight computer go?"
Waking up like that, Baek Si-hyun began spouting nonsense that no one could understand.
That was a pipe dream, Si-hyun.
Just as I was about to say that to dispel her delusions, the car shook violently again.
"Ugyak."
Only after slamming her head once more did Baek Si-hyun seem to grasp the situation and immediately buckled her seatbelt.
"…Uh. Wait, was it all a dream?"
Even then, she continued to say stupid things.
"Yes."
"…Then being kidnapped in a car after my detention ended is also a dream, right?"
"That part is real."
And it’s not a kidnapping, kid.
Screeeeeech!
After that brief exchange, silence dominated the car, broken only by the sounds of the vehicle repeatedly braking and accelerating.
"…Let me out…!"
The moment Baek Si-hyun was about to start acting up again—
"My apologies."
Her outburst was cut short by the agent’s heavy, rapid words.
"Brace for explosion!"
Two short words that proved he was a well-trained agent.
Immediately, the two of us moved.
Han A-bin transformed instantly and curled her body into the seat.
"Tsk."
I leaped over the seat and pulled the pet case I’d left in the back toward me, shielding it with my body.
It was a sturdy steel case containing Un-ho and the tentacle. If Un-ho were awake, he surely would have deployed a barrier, but that glutton didn't even open his eyes in this chaos.
Even as everyone prepared for the blast—
"…Hm? Explosion?"
There was one idiot just sitting there blankly.
"Baek Si-hyun! Transform!"
I immediately barked the order.
Praying it wasn't too late.
"Yes, sir!"
Hearing my command, Baek Si-hyun immediately began the transformation process.
About two or three seconds later.
Kiiiiiiiiing—
Along with a piercing noise that rang in my ears—
BOOM!
A massive explosion struck.
A wave of heat licked across my skin, and a sharp light pierced through my closed eyelids.
The impact didn't last long.
However, those few seconds felt much longer than they actually were.
The potential damage to my own body wasn't the issue.
The problem was my companions.
The worry that they might have been harmed by the explosion.
Han A-bin would likely be safe. She had transformed immediately and taken a posture to protect her vital organs and head; even in the worst-case scenario, it would end with limb damage.
The agent was skilled enough to be around A-Rank, so I didn't need to worry about him.
Un-ho and the tentacle should be fine since I shielded them with my body.
The problem was Baek Si-hyun.
She had started the transformation, but I didn't know if it had been completed in time.
If she was late, could she survive?
A Magical Girl’s most vulnerable moment.
An attack hitting an untransformed body.
The resulting death.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the fear that gripped me.
After a long period of darkness and flashes—
When everything finally settled, I opened my eyes.
The destruction caused by the explosion came into view.
A crater—small, but definitely a crater that couldn't have been made by a normal explosion—had formed. In the center sat the car, which had lost its original shape except for part of the frame after taking a direct hit.
A heavy emotion pierced my heart.
It was a bomb far more powerful than I’d imagined. A moment ago, I was worried about Baek Si-hyun failing to transform, but with this level of power, even a transformed Han A-bin might not be safe…
To shake off the rising dread, I immediately shouted.
"Baek Si-hyun! Han A-bin!"
Answer me if you're alive!
My voice was thick with grief.
The moment I called out the names of my two missing disciples—
"…Yes…?"
"Yes! Baek Si-hyun is here!"
From right behind me, the voices of my two disciples reached my ears.
I whipped my head around, and an incomprehensible sight met my eyes.
Despite being caught in an explosion powerful enough to leave a crater, the two disciples stood there without a single scratch or even a smudge on their clothes.
And standing a bit further behind them—
"…Phew."
The agent was sighing in relief while dusting off his suit.
What on earth is this?
With that thought, I set down the pet case—which was crumpled but otherwise undamaged—and stood up blankly.
Perhaps because I was staring at the agent so vacantly, the two disciples also slowly turned their heads to follow my gaze.
The agent, who had been dusting himself off, finally noticed our stares. He looked back at us and opened his mouth to speak.
"Welcome to the Management Bureau Technology Research Institute, Branch 02."
It was an answer that explained absolutely nothing.