The Item's Soul Bites Back
I clamped my mouth shut tight.
So the warehouse over there held a soul from another world?
*Whoosh. Whoosh.*
Stay calm.
Thinking back, this wasn’t the first time a soul had lodged itself in an item.
It was the same the day I met Ingrid.
Roan had done the same thing inside that stained cup.
“My lord?”
Isra sensed the trouble and rushed over, easing her own alarm.
“It’s nothing serious.”
“You seem awfully worked up.”
“I heard a new soul’s voice.”
【Welcome, my lord.】
Our saint sounded a little put out that I’d called him the youngest when I’d barely given Zaug the time of day.
“Where exactly?”
I’d clearly heard the voice.
But why couldn’t I pinpoint its location?
The closer I got to where the soul should be, the clearer it ought to become.
*Haam. Hmm.*
All I caught were faint coughs in the distance.
I had no idea where the soul even was.
*Ah. Got it.*
“Hey, teacher.”
*Haahum.*
“If you want to stay curled up and rotting in the warehouse, keep your soul energy that weak.”
Was he trying to haggle with me?
The soul in the warehouse had deliberately shrunk its size to hide its presence.
*What nonsense.*
*Not that. Cough. I’ve been wondering why the young people these days have such short tempers.*
*Hah!*
One sharp question and the location snapped into focus.
[Meager’s Balance]
**Grade:** Unique
**Category:** Alchemical Tool
**Restriction:** Requires A-rank alchemist or higher
**Durability:** 70/70
This balance was used by the great alchemist Meager.
It supposedly finds the perfect ratio.
Only qualified alchemists may use the item.
It was a soul-bound alchemical tool.
I could guess what he’d done in life.
*Cough. I am the great alchemist Meager.*
“Understood. Take care.”
I turned on my heel at once.
This soul trapped inside an item dared scold *me*?
Different from Isra or Zaug.
Time to establish authority.
*Wait! Don’t we have to introduce ourselves properly?*
“Park Minho. Sorry, I’m a little busy.”
*Hah. Then at least become my conversation partner, old man.*
“While you’re seeking a conversation partner, you keep your soul energy so tiny? That’s odd.”
*Cough. It’s been a while since I last spoke with someone. I was happy.*
Now that we had cleared the air.
I hadn’t thought Isra would flip out over every other-world soul.
I’d gathered a whole army of subordinates, so I had nothing left to regret.
*No.*
Actually, I did feel a twinge of regret.
But I didn’t want to be dragged around by some snapping alchemist.
*Your subordinates all seem to carry souls, like living beings.*
“You see them clearly.”
*Heh-heh. I could make them like those kids too.*
“What exactly do I get for that?”
“To have the great alchemist as a friend.”
“Enough.”
*Hah. Hah. Young man, you’ve been in an awful hurry since earlier.*
Isra’s face twisted in real time beside me.
I could practically see her about to shout.
I held her back.
The negotiation was still going smoothly. Just a little longer.
Once they were my subordinates, I’d let them run wild.
“Then become my subordinate.”
*Ha-ha. What a funny joke. To be enslaved by a weak necromancer like you?*
“If you’d rather stay here and rot, fine.”
I could summon the great alchemist or anyone else I wanted if I chose.
The soul from another world I’d met first, Isra, had been the same case.
*Well, she quickly accepted it.*
The others had been turned into undead without much protest.
There was another reason I’d made them reluctant.
Their work ethic depended on whether they accepted their situation, so I had to sweet-talk them.
“I wonder if there’s a necromancy-related item.”
Muttering to myself, I walked toward the opposite side of the Balance.
Not even two seconds passed before a soul’s presence flared like a knife about to tear apart.
*Wait! There’s no such item here!*
“Then you’d have found it by now. There’s only one item I can choose right now anyway.”
*Wait, wait. What if I swear on it?*
“What?”
*You will serve me as your master.*
*Seriously.*
So the item’s great alchemist soul had no choice but to show its hand.
Even without the soul, I wouldn’t have lost much.
The soul itself, though, might never see sunlight again.
Even if I wasn’t a necromancer.
There might have been a Crackblade employee who could meet the restriction.
“Give me your name.”
*I, Meager DeKray, will serve Park Minho as my master. Satisfied?*
A little impure wording, but it was fine.
With four eager subordinates, what could I do?
“This last item, I choose this.”
I pointed at Meager’s Balance.
The director sighed, *Ahum.*
“Is it all right? It’s a rather difficult item.”
“I can use it, so…”
“If you say so, Park Hunter, then we must give it.”
A new soul from another world.
You belong to me!
* * *
After the meeting with the director came the pleasant time of item borrowing.
I had spent a useful afternoon and headed home.
On the way, I sent a text to President Baek right away.
*Looks like I got some China intelligence agency data. Come to my house.*
No more than ten seconds after I hit send.
[Baek President]
*Understood. I’ll come right away.*
…That was the reply.
Even though it was cut off, he didn’t ask anything.
Lucky for me.
I didn’t know much either.
So.
“Won’t you need an explanation?”
Tell me what happened.
With eyes narrowed, I glared at my subordinates.
Their gazes all gathered on one side.
*Haha. What I did, I did for you.*
“Will you take responsibility for them?”
“I will. Do not scold the others.”
I frowned.
*Koong!*
“Oof.”
“Who asked you for responsibility?”
After I grabbed Isra’s head and gave it a light thump, I sighed.
“Even if you caused the trouble, I’m the one taking responsibility.”
“My lord?”
“I have no intention of stealing credit.”
Why didn’t they understand that I’d only acted for their safety?
My hands had been a little heavy, but I had no intention of passing the blame.
“My, my, my lord!”
Isra’s eyes welled with tears as she wriggled her hips like she was about to leap at me.
*Please hold on, will you?*
“So explain the situation.”
*Ah, yes!*
Isra took a deep breath and launched into the full story of wiping out the Chinese intelligence organization.
“We did not kill any unarmed people.”
“You were at least careful there.”
“Oh! My lord understands our loyalty!”
“Don’t do it again.”
“Our loyalty is first and foremost to our master’s safety.”
Ingrid added her voice too.
Yes.
I now understood that the crisis had come because my subordinates had banded together with true loyalty.
If the same thing happened again.
These kids would probably cause another accident.
*Ugh.*
This was troublesome.
“One promise.”
I needed to install at least the bare minimum of safety measures.
“Before you start causing trouble, report it.”
“You recognize our loyalty?”
*Kong!*
“Oof.”
“Don’t you dare let someone else hear that you caused an accident!”
*Recognition?*
How terrified they’d been when the director heard their story!
“You’re not planning to cause another accident, are you?”
*Cough. Everything I did was for my lord, as an expression of loyalty.*
“Shut up.”
*Hah.*
Too much loyalty was a problem too.
The moment I reached home, I pulled up the file my subordinates had secured.
*Uuum.*
After reading it for five minutes, my thought was:
*I have no idea what any of this is!*
“What kind of crooked writing is this?”
*Chinese!*
If we were breathing Korean air, shouldn’t they have written in Korean?
I checked a few more documents, but I still couldn’t read them.
I hadn’t even touched the USB or hard drive.
I was worried I’d accidentally delete internal data, and opening it might mean who-knows-what kind of code.
*Ding dong—*
“I’m home.”
After passing on Isra’s story verbatim, President Baek’s face twisted.
“You caused a major accident.”
“That’s what you said.”
*Sigh.*
A long sigh made Isra’s shoulders twitch.
“I would have preferred it if nothing had happened.”
“Excuse me?”
“Because relations with the Superhuman Bureau are already irreparable.”
Irreparable.
I never planned to improve anything in the first place.
If I couldn’t hold them, I’d crush them.
I’d been snubbed three times for no reason.
Now it was my turn to return the favor.
“I have no intention of improving it.”
I answered each word with full force.
My subordinates had already returned some favor by acting on their own, but it wasn’t enough.
I wouldn’t feel at peace until I delivered a proper payback.
“Should I have the Crackblade review these documents before handing them over?”
“Yes.”
“It would be best if there was a lot of useful information.”
President Baek gave a dry chuckle.
A strange smile that mixed relief and irritation.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“You’re not going gate hunting this afternoon?”
“To get a new soul from another world.”
“Congratulations, Park Hunter!”
“Whether it’s a win or a miss, I’ll have to wait and see.”
*Calling this old man a bust!*
What?
I shook Meager’s Balance lightly.
A grotesque scream echoed from the soul.
“The soul is lodged in that item.”
“I’ll have to investigate which friend it is.”
“I hope it’s a soul that will become a great strength for you, Park Hunter.”
*That’s what I’m hoping too.*
After handing the data to President Baek, I entered the Death Blacksmith.
“My lord. Have you prepared a model you want?”
“Well… since it’s an alchemist, a skeleton wizard should be fine, right?”
“Alchemists are a little different from mages.”
“Really?”
“Handicraft and senses are important, so a skeleton wizard might not suit you.”
Valid advice.
“Thank you. Ingrid.”
*Ho-ho. The one who helps my master the most is still me.*
*Grrr.*
“You’ll have to be more energetic for the first sword, won’t you?”
“Shut up, you thief.”
Let’s see.
Among intermediate to low-rank undead, finding one with exceptional handiwork is difficult.
*No choice.*
I’d have to use the versatile, mediocre Revenant again.
I crafted an extra Revenant with spare materials.
Then I extracted the soul from Meager’s Balance.
*Into such a pathetic body?*
“Yes.”
*No way! I reject it!*
“I accept the rejection.”
You swore loyalty with your own mouth earlier.
There’s a beautiful saying in our country: *once fallen, it doesn’t stand again.*
I reached out to the Balance, grabbed the soul with a *thrust*, and pulled it free.
*Ahhhgh!*
I stuffed the blue glowing scream into the Revenant’s chest.
---
New soul bonded to Revenant. Loyalty sworn. Soul energy stabilized.
---
The blue glow pulsed inside the Revenant as I watched.