Chapter 368
Chapter 368
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 368
Chapter Title: Rehearsal (1)
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Clink—
The soft sound echoed quietly as a coffee cup, steam rising gently, was placed on the table.
'Southeast Asia Branch.'
Right after wrapping up that sudden outing.
Back home, I'd showered and enjoyed some coffee to refresh myself, and now I sat in my massage chair as usual, lost in quiet thought.
I needed to mull over the information I'd just obtained.
'Singapore.'
A representative city-state in Southeast Asia, larger than Seoul but smaller than Busan.
Yet it had achieved economic growth that belied its size, making it one of Asia's advanced nations.
That was the most likely location for the Reverse Heaven Society's Southeast Asia Branch.
'Its small size is definitely a plus. It'll cut down on the effort needed for a thorough investigation.'
I'd extracted info from the devices of those skulking around Korea, but unfortunately, there was a major flaw.
As expected from what were essentially low-level branch members, they had no access to high-level details like the exact location of their superior organization, the Southeast Asia Branch.
The vague positional data I'd managed to glean was thanks to the dramatically enhanced performance of 「Machine Eye: Kallikas」.
Without that precise analysis, even I would've struggled to get anything out of it.
'After the East Asia Branch led by the Domain Ruler collapsed, management of Korea got transferred there? ...Well, a newly reformed East Asia division would be too busy normalizing China to handle much else.'
After taking down the Domain Ruler, Hans's China trip had paused as the Reverse Heaven Society began responding in earnest.
While the remnants of each branch had quickly gone underground as planned, China's massive scale and aggressive reactions made continued hunting far more difficult, even for him.
'Of course, unless the Reverse Heaven Society Leader steps in personally, there's a limit to how much they can block Hans's direct actions. Still, those interferences have seriously tanked efficiency.'
I already had plenty on my plate; I couldn't cling to a low-efficiency task forever.
Besides, the time difference meant staying on Earth longer wasted ten times more time compared to the other worlds.
So I'd planned to handle other matters first and watch patiently until my Earth subordinates brought solid intel...
'Perfect timing for a suitable target. Of course, breaching the ironclad security of a branch overseeing an entire region and pinpointing its location won't be easy.'
Fortunately, I had the perfect talent for that line of work—someone more gifted than anyone else.
The unsung hero who'd uncovered the East Asia Branch's location to take down the Domain Ruler, and whose crucial aid had let me wipe out the Korean hideouts this time: the ace of the intel division.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Achoo!"
Andrew Weaver shuddered violently with a sudden sneeze.
No way could a sturdy Awakener like him catch a cold, yet an inexplicable chill raced through his body, making his hairs stand on end.
A vague sense of foreboding crept up, prickling the nape of his neck.
"...Hoo, must be low energy. Maybe I should brew some tonic herbs..."
The Korean grumbling slipped out naturally.
He was a blond American, but constantly observing Korean lives through dozens, hundreds of eyes had immersed him in their culture.
With his sharp mind amplified by his ability, his fluent Korean sounded like he'd lived here for years.
That was how he'd tracked the Reverse Heaven Society's Korean remnants to their DMZ hideout.
'No, I nailed this one big time, so vacation's probably coming soon, right? Time to head home and crash for a month. Money's just piling up in the bank—might as well blow it all.'
His salary was jaw-droppingly high, no question.
The issue was the brutal workload and abysmal welfare leaving no time to spend it.
Sure, he could order most things online for quick delivery, but it wasn't the same as swiping a card in person.
'A car? No point; I might not even drive it. Who knows how long I'll be stuck in Korea. Guess I'll grab a watch instead. Oh, and hit the duty-free for top-tier designer sunglasses...'
His happy fantasies chased away the eerie chill.
Just his imagination, after all.
Andrew squeezed his eyes shut again to tackle the Blood Alliance's assignments.
Thinking he'd soon be off after finishing the backlog reignited his motivation from rock bottom.
'Hurry and wrap it up—vacation, vacation, vacation! Yeah, Vegas it is. Clean out the bank account to zero!'
A few years here, and he'd earn more than he'd ever dreamed.
He powered through the piled-up work, tracking remnants with his ability, oblivious to the future hurtling toward him.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'Gotta whip up that language interpretation magic tool ASAP. Maximizing Andrew's ability is still best done that way.'
Nearly half of Singapore used English as their first language, but that meant the other half primarily spoke something else.
What a waste to gather intel and miss half of it!
"As the saying goes, strike while the iron's hot. Might as well knock it out now."
I sprang from the massage chair and chugged the coffee from the side table.
Of course, even I couldn't mass-produce such a magic tool on a whim.
Automatically translating all languages wasn't some trivial tech.
Unlike scientific translators relying on vast databases, true interpretation required parsing the intent behind words.
Homonyms, ambiguous rhetoric, culture-specific idioms—all needed flawless comprehension to avoid errors.
And fully grasping linguistic meaning was—
The bare minimum prerequisite for mastering Word Spirit, the pinnacle of verbal abilities.
How could something that elite be casually replicated in a magic tool?
'Even as a basic requirement, Word Spirit is Word Spirit. Even Horus, loaded with buffs, needed years of orthodox Dragon Word Magic training—its caliber and difficulty speak for themselves.'
If I didn't already have 「Xenoglossy」 and Horus's 「Dragon Word Magic」, backed by Hans's 「Forbidden Truth」 for the knowledge base, I'd never have dared.
It wasn't just a reward for Andrew's great work—my ambition played a part too!
'Though I'll need to downgrade it a bit and add restrictions. Limiting it to Earth languages isn't bad.'
Integrating other techniques could slash the difficulty.
The theory was complete, so production wouldn't take long.
With that settled, I focused on the space ahead.
'Yeah, best to use that.'
A deep breath, then a firm step forward.
The moment a strange sensation swept over me—
I was already somewhere else.
Firmly tiled floors, walls of smooth marble, a high ceiling embedded with glowing orbs.
"...Alright, let's get started."
Not some barrier on Earth, but a separate phase space governed by different laws.
My secret hideout, accessible only to me, and my final bastion in a crisis.
This was the 「Dragon Lair」.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The perk Horus earned achieving the 'Last Gold Dragon' feat: 「Dragon Lair」.
Moving into this sub-space, closer to an extradimensional void than the present world, could almost be called dimensional travel.
Of course, it wasn't true dimensional shift, so it had constraints—but the possibilities made them negligible drawbacks.
First and foremost—
"Uherherhet! This setup is splendid!"
In a corner cave connected by a neat corridor.
A stocky dwarf circled his forge workshop, equipped with top-grade furnace and anvil, bursting into hearty laughter.
One wall held devices seized from the Korean Reverse Heaven remnants, but that wasn't the point now.
Separate from his Tar拉克 workshop, filling it with his handcrafted gear ignited an urge to dive right in.
'Work's better done fast anyway.'
I approached the dwarf—Howard—slowly, smiling faintly.
One effect of 「Dragon Lair」: temporarily gathering Avatars from different dimensions in one spot.
'No more swapping work mid-task or dimension-hopping for collaboration. All materials are stocked in the lair's warehouse.'
The second perk: time dilation control.
This parasitic world existed independent of dimensions yet required them to persist.
Thus, I could freely set its time flow, unbound by any world's.
Even on Earth, I could maximize time efficiency.
Of course, I hadn't used it often for a reason.
'No time limit, and I'd abuse it way more.'
Staying in the 「Dragon Lair」 had limits.
All day inside equated to about a week per month outside?
Considering it generated a sub-space sans medium for free access, such limits were reasonable.
'Smart distribution could stretch it further, but...'
The catch: more Avatars inside exponentially shortened duration.
The lair was a dragon's nest for hoarding treasure and safe hibernation.
To remove the limit, I'd probably need Horus hibernating as the core.
'For now, this suffices.'
Couldn't bring others, and returns were only to origin points, but as emergency insurance, it was solid.
Perfect for urgent needs like this.
[Hoo— Time's precious, so let's start right away.]
I spoke lowly, donning Hans's guise.
Even suppressed, the air froze instantly—but the others' base specs and skills buffered indirect effects.
"Uherherhet! Perfect timing—I had just the thing in mind. Now I can test it!"
"Eung, blending magic and Taoism should yield efficient designs. The most effective combo would be..."
The subjects were a master dwarf elevated by triple blessings and a genius dragon versed in two worlds' mysteries.
The hatchling Horus, ever-present, prepped enchantments beside Howard as he refined materials.
[No need for speaking/writing functions. Just listening and reading... Like this, then...]
Plus my main body (Hans Ver.) lending a hand in Hans's stead.
With this elite team united, crafting the magic tool was merely a matter of time.
Thud—! Thud—! Chiiiik—
The steady workshop noises progressed methodically.
A startling serenity hung in the air.
At the same time elsewhere.
Far different events unfolded.
In the Kanghwan Realm, where true Demon King Hans, Fighting King Hari, and peerless martial artist Hugo were dispatched.
Near the capital Beijing, the world's heart.
—A battle deciding the world's fate was about to begin.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Under a sky shrouded in pitch-black clouds blotting out the heavens.
"Kehuhet— It's finally starting."
Even in broad daylight, deep darkness cloaked the ground as a bone-chilling voice evoked goosebumps.
Hans, hooded in a chimera mask, gazed skyward upon sensing the approaching crowd.
At a glance, mere irregular storm clouds—but within intertwined complex rules and systems beyond most imaginations.
...Nay, a nexus of mysteries even this world's top scholars couldn't fathom.
His unique composite ritual fusing geomancy arrays, magic formations, magic squares, numerology, Kabbalah, and more.
He'd stayed behind amid Earth's chaos to prepare this miracle—a stage rigged for the actors who'd graciously appeared.
To guide them to blaze brilliantly on this one-time stage.
"Come forth, heroes. Topple the Demon with your hands and save the world. Peace without sacrifice holds no meaning. Fertilize the earth with your flesh, spill your blood like water, and burn your souls to illuminate the light."
What later generations would call—
The final battle for the world's destiny.
The head-on clash of demonic cultists and martial alliance warriors' convictions.
The heroes' last stand, throwing their lives to save a perishing world.
"And when your obsession and longing touch the heavens, I shall descend salvation upon this land myself."
Yet in truth, orchestrated by one man.
The curtain rose on 'Home Theater Rehearsal (Kanghwan Realm Edition)'.