Chapter 121
Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: The Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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Shin Yu-hyun spoke once more to Nam Yeon-ah, who was staring at him in shock.
"What if we rebuild the Artifact Research Institute under the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan?"
"Pardon?"
Nam Yeon-ah's face went blank at Shin Yu-hyun's unexpected words yet again.
But she quickly composed herself and grasped his intentions.
"Rebuild the Artifact Research Institute... under the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan?"
The Artifact Research Institute, built underground in Bukhansan Mountain, had been constructed with massive support from the Namdu Group.
In truth, the institute effectively belonged to the Namdu Group.
"Yes. How about using this chance to set up a research institute just for you, Nam Yeon-ah?"
"Just for me..."
Nam Yeon-ah fell deep into thought.
A personal research institute of her own.
It didn't sound bad at all.
But there was one problem.
"I'm not sure if that's feasible. The Namdu Group suffered astronomical losses because of this incident. I can't just leave the group. Besides, building a research institute would require a huge amount of money."
Nam Yeon-ah shook her head with a bitter expression.
Regardless of the reasons, the Namdu Group had taken a massive hit by losing the Artifact Research Institute.
They couldn't conduct artifact research anymore either.
Their artifact business would face serious setbacks.
In such a situation, she—the central figure in the Namdu Group's artifact R&D—couldn't just up and go to the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
"I think there's a slight misunderstanding. Even if we build the Artifact Research Institute under our clan, you can still continue researching artifacts for the Namdu Group just like before. No problem at all."
"Pardon? But how..."
"The important thing is protecting you, Nam Yeon-ah."
With those words, Shin Yu-hyun leaned in close and whispered softly into her ear.
"In your current state, you can't go back to the Namdu Group, right? Not with Nam Min-hyuk gunning for you."
"Ah..."
Only then did Nam Yeon-ah realize it.
She couldn't return to the Namdu Group like this.
For some reason, Nam Min-hyuk was currently after her life.
Until now, the Artifact Research Institute's state-of-the-art security systems had protected her.
But if she returned to the Namdu Group in this state?
There would be no one to protect her, no systems either. And the most chilling fact was that a Getia Worshipper had already infiltrated the Artifact Research Institute.
That bastard and Nam Min-hyuk had to be connected somehow.
But the Getia Worshipper had been killed by the magic beasts, and the institute was utterly destroyed.
Regrettably, all the evidence had gone up in smoke too.
And now, Shin Yu-hyun was extending a hand to her.
"But why are you being so good to me, Yu-hyun?"
"Me?"
At her words, Shin Yu-hyun looked back at her with genuine puzzlement.
Well, from her perspective, it might seem like he was helping her out a lot.
He had already saved her life twice, and now he was trying to protect her by offering to rebuild the institute under his clan.
"I recognize your artifact development skills, Yeon-ah. I've actually owed you quite a debt for that coat you gave me. And..."
Shin Yu-hyun smiled and showed her the DF coat. In the battles against the magic beasts, the DF coat had performed its role admirably.
"In a world like this, shouldn't we help each other to survive?"
The superhuman society was a world of the survival of the fittest.
Without power, you were weeded out.
In such a world, helping others or receiving help was rare.
Of course, superhumans did cooperate sometimes.
But that only happened when everyone played their roles or when mutual aid was possible.
"That's music to my ears."
Nam Yeon-ah spoke with a bitter expression.
Her current position wasn't good at all.
The Artifact Research Institute she was responsible for had been reduced to rubble by the magic beasts.
Because of that, the Namdu Group would never entrust her with another research institute.
And for someone who had caused the Namdu Group astronomical losses, there was only one thing left to do.
A political marriage.
Marry the son of some other major corporation's executive or someone from a prominent family to benefit the Namdu Group.
Political marriages were common in high society.
"You don't need to worry about anything else, Yeon-ah. Just focus on artifact R&D."
"Thank you."
Nam Yeon-ah gave a slight smile at Shin Yu-hyun's words.
Just as he said, living without other worries and purely researching artifacts was her dream.
That's why she had been overjoyed when the institute was built, thinking it was her own personal paradise.
But that paradise had been shattered.
'Just like me in the past.'
In truth, Shin Yu-hyun had seen echoes of his past self in the current Nam Yeon-ah.
In his previous life, after being exiled from his clan, he received help from no one, wandered as a low-rank hunter clearing dungeons, and then faced the Getia invasion.
And that's when he met her.
The European witch, Maria Testarossa.
With her help, Shin Yu-hyun had awakened to new powers.
He could wield mana and grow stronger.
Without her aid, he would have lived as a loser forever, only to be slaughtered by the Getia scum.
But thanks to Maria, he fought on without giving up.
He lost everything to the Getia in the end.
But because he never gave up, he seized a new opportunity.
He became the Immortal King's successor and returned to the past.
That's why he was extending a hand to Nam Yeon-ah now.
In his previous life, Maria had been the first to reach out to him when he was drowning in despair.
That had brought him to this point.
"And aren't you angry, Yeon-ah?"
"Pardon?"
Nam Yeon-ah looked up sharply at Shin Yu-hyun's sudden question.
"If it weren't for that Getia Worshipper bastard, none of this would have happened. The institute staff wouldn't have been slaughtered either."
"...!"
Nam Yeon-ah gritted her teeth.
He was right.
If they had halted the experiment when the crystal fragments went berserk, the warp gate never would have opened.
But because of the Getia Worshipper Kim Seung-cheol, countless lives were lost.
And those researchers who died were like family to Nam Yeon-ah.
She would have to attend their funerals, apologize to their families, and provide compensation.
"Don't you want revenge on the Getia Worshippers?"
"Revenge..."
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Getia Worshippers had taken everything from her.
And that wasn't all.
She had nearly been assassinated by people suspected to be Getia Worshippers.
Nam Yeon-ah looked at Shin Yu-hyun and spoke.
"What exactly are the Getia Worshippers? And what is Getia?"
"Getia is..."
Shin Yu-hyun gave her a brief explanation.
About the recent magic beast attacks on his clan and the Iron Armor Unit.
And about the Ashen Church, suspected to be a Getia Worshipper organization behind them.
He even mentioned how the Black Tower Black Watch—a group of black mages in Europe—was linked to the Ashen Church.
"There's no hard evidence yet, but Nam Min-hyuk might be connected to the Getia Worshippers too."
"Since the ones who tried to assassinate me were Getia Worshippers, that's a real possibility."
Having heard everything from Shin Yu-hyun, Nam Yeon-ah nodded.
"I get the story now. But can I really be of any help?"
"Of course."
Shin Yu-hyun laughed confidently at Nam Yeon-ah, who seemed to lack assurance.
In his previous life, there had even been talk that if she hadn't gone missing in an unidentified dungeon gate, her artifact R&D would have been a huge boon.
"Thank you."
Just moments ago, Nam Yeon-ah had felt lost, her future pitch black.
But Shin Yu-hyun's response reignited some motivation in her.
He had given her a goal: revenge.
And with a goal came drive.
"So, what do we do now?"
With newfound confidence and motivation on her face, Nam Yeon-ah asked.
"First, we should meet with the chairman."
Namdu Group's chairman, Nam Hyun-cheol.
To rebuild the Artifact Research Institute, they would need Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol's help.
It required an enormous amount of money, after all.
* * *
Shin Yu-hyun handed off the cleanup to the Namdu Group's security team and returned to the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
The warp gate incident would be hushed up per their prior agreement, and publicly, it would be announced as an accident during an experiment.
It would probably get a brief mention in the news in a day or two.
For now, he had brought Nam Yeon-ah to the Black Tortoise Hall.
'Sending her back to the Namdu Group like this would be too dangerous.'
If he left her somewhere other than the destroyed Artifact Research Institute, Nam Min-hyuk might make a move.
'Still, I didn't expect Shuv to volunteer as her guard.'
The Black Tortoise Hall could guarantee Nam Yeon-ah's safety, but attaching a dedicated guard was better, so he had been pondering it.
Then Shuv stepped up, offering to take the role himself.
So he entrusted Nam Yeon-ah to Shuv.
He could trust Shuv with it.
Right now, Nam Yeon-ah was having an afterparty with Shuv and Dia.
'Next up is meeting Chairman Nam Hyun-cheol?'
He planned to meet Namdu Group's chairman Nam Hyun-cheol as quickly as possible through Nam Yeon-ah.
They needed to discuss her situation and the Artifact Research Institute.
'First, let's check the loot.'
In the Black Tortoise Hall's underground training grounds, Shin Yu-hyun examined the spoils from the Artifact Research Institute.
He had taken down the Xenomorph swarm magic beasts and gained a considerable amount of Soul Points and mana stones.
And that wasn't all.
Psychic essence.
Xenomorph King's essence, stinger, Verka metal blade.
Mother's essence, and more.
He had collected quite a few trophies from the boss-grade magic beasts as well.
'The Soul Points alone are impressive.'
Shin Yu-hyun smiled in satisfaction.
The magic beasts he had slain in the Artifact Research Institute totaled around 150.
Their ranks varied from 3-star to 5-star.
The bosses were 3 Psychics, 1 King, and 1 Mother.
'Not bad at all.'
The Soul Points from the magic beasts in the Artifact Research Institute totaled 828.
Adding the remaining 70 made it 898 in total.
He could boost his chakra levels a bit more, enhance his physical stats, or use them to strengthen the skeletons.
'How about making a Janissary this time?'
Shin Yu-hyun looked at Saber No.1, Lancer No.1, and Archer No.1 before him.
Right now, he could assign these No.1 units to the Immortal King's direct guard.
'The downside is they cost a ton of Soul Points...'
Assigning a Janissary required a whopping 500 Soul Points.
In his current state, he could only make one.
Shin Yu-hyun gazed at Saber No.1.
A message appeared before his eyes.