Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Deals in the Shadows
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Two days after the evaluation match, Lee Si-woo met Yahalong in a deserted abandoned factory district on the outskirts of Granada and handed him a box containing a single Promotion Pill.
“Please, take it.”
Yahalong hesitated, replying timidly.
“Hey, I don’t know if I should take this. I wasn’t much help to you…”
Was it because he had boasted about helping through his grandfather, only to do nothing?
Yahalong watched Si-woo’s expression like a child who’d brought home a failing report card.
“Yes, you can take it. Besides, you stood by me when others shunned me, didn’t you, Sir Yahalong?”
“If I take a Promotion Pill for something like that, people will call me a conscienceless bastard…”
“Don’t be like that. It’s not like you’re getting it for free.”
Si-woo glanced at the abandoned factory behind Yahalong.
Inside the factory, dozens of people stood handcuffed, their heads covered with black cloths.
“Tch, getting a Promotion Pill in exchange for handing over human criminals and death row inmates is pretty much the same as getting it for free.”
“It’s fine. It was the payment I wanted. By the way, how many are there in total?”
“Exactly 25. I tried to get more, but there were fewer inmates who committed violent crimes like murder and rape in the prison than I thought. Maybe it’s because the guards kill them off whenever they feel like it’s a hassle.”
“You’re sure there aren’t any petty criminals mixed in by mistake, right?”
“Don’t worry. I personally vetted them, so that won’t happen. Every one of them deserves to be struck dead today.”
“Thank you.”
“What’s there to thank me for? It wasn’t a difficult task. But what are you going to use all these people for? Don’t tell me you’re planning to sell them to a terrorist organization like Racist, are you?”
“Why would someone like me, with powerful connections like you and Lady Isabelle, get involved with the likes of Racist? It’s nothing like that, so don’t worry about it. It’s just that… like any mage, I needed some test subjects.”
“Well, I suppose what you do with them is none of my business. Ah, by the way, you heard that Ixion went missing, right?”
Despite being the one who had made Ixion disappear, Si-woo feigned ignorance with a perfectly straight face.
“No. This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Really? Well, you must have been busy, so it’s understandable you didn’t hear. Anyway, Ixion disappeared, and all sorts of rumors are flying around because of it. Some say he left the Magic Tower because he was embarrassed about losing to you, others say Allen took care of him because he was dissatisfied with his performance not matching his transfer fee. There are so many strange rumors, I don’t know what’s true.”
“If I had to pick, the first rumor seems the most plausible. Even I would probably disappear without a trace if I lost to a low-Circle Unranked.”
“Haha, well, it’s not a bad thing for you, I guess. I was a bit worried that bastard Ixion might try to harm you.”
“What’s there to worry about? How could someone who already lost to me possibly harm me?”
“That’s true. Tch, forget it. What’s the point of worrying about a guy who’s already gone? Ah, I’ve been holding you up when you’re busy. Sorry, I’ll get going now so you can take care of your business.”
“Alright, I’ll see you later then.”
After confirming that Yahalong had left with the Promotion Pill, Si-woo entered the abandoned factory.
He stood before the humans, who were breathing heavily with black hoods over their heads, like cattle waiting in a slaughterhouse.
‘Am I the evil one for trying to turn human lives and souls into elixirs? Or are they the evil ones, who, in these difficult times, murdered and pillaged their own kind instead of working together?’
Already knowing the answer, Si-woo, indulging in a preamble for his self-justification, slowly closed his eyes.
He stood there for a long while, repeating a cycle of self-loathing and rationalization, before slowly offering a silent prayer.
‘Do not feel a pathetic sense of guilt. There is no deceit more vile. As always, rationalize. That is why you chose those who could be faulted. Grant them the most peaceful death possible. That is the only and best thing I can do for them.’
Si-woo began his work. Slowly. Yet so swiftly that they wouldn't even feel it.
How long did the tedious time pass, like the gentle tapping on a cutting board at dawn?
When Si-woo finally finished his work and left the abandoned factory, nothing remained inside.
***
The first person Si-woo sought after logging into Barathrum was Ixion.
Upon seeing Si-woo, Ixion neither screamed nor tried to resolve his anxiety by bombarding him with questions.
Like the former Ranker he was, he maintained a cautious demeanor even in this unknown place and spoke.
“What do you want from me?”
“Let’s see. What could it be?”
“Tell me. I’ll do whatever I can. But in return, it’s three. You’ll let me go after I complete just three missions.”
“Three, you say…”
“Three is not a small number. Whatever missions you demand, I will carry them out with my life on the line.”
Si-woo shook his head.
“No. It’s too few.”
“You’re too greedy, Si-woo. Do not forget that Elder Allen is behind me. He is a fearsome man. I don’t know where this place is, but he will find me soon enough…”
Ixion’s words caught in his throat.
It was strange.
Just a moment ago, Si-woo was Si-woo.
He was a wild dog with a black heart, a piece of trash whose respectful tone was just a thin veneer over his vulgar core.
“What, what are you… you… you are…”
Ixion fell on his rear and scrambled backward, dragging himself along the floor.
“Ixion, the number of missions… is meaningless now.”
A voice like thunder, tearing through the silence, echoed in Ixion’s mind.
As that voice shattered and ripped apart his psyche, Ixion clamped his hands over his ears and screamed.
But no matter how tightly he covered his ears, it was useless.
It was as if the voice originated from his very eardrums, Si-woo’s resonant tone shaking his brain.
Ixion wailed and rolled on the floor.
Blood trickled from his eyes and ears.
“Don’t you understand? Ixion. That everything you are… is already mine?”
Ixion was certain.
Though the intensity was different, he had felt this feeling, this terror, before.
It was the full moon.
The forest at night.
The full moon he saw there, amidst the suffocating darkness, accompanied by the old woman’s voice.
Si-woo’s presence, for a moment, resembled that moon.
Ixion grabbed Si-woo’s leg and begged.
“Please, please, please…”
As if he had forgotten all other words, Ixion repeated the word “please” and slammed his head at Si-woo’s feet.
Si-woo looked down at Ixion, who was pressing his forehead to the floor like a servant begging for his master’s mercy.
His eyes, like black pearls, showed no color of emotion.
It was as if Ixion’s submission to him was as natural and obvious as breathing.
***
A three-meter-tall golden scale stood like an old tree.
Arriving before the balance, with its golden plates dangling on either side, Si-woo opened his status window.
「Tier 3」
Facilities: 【Mine】 【Library】 【Hall】 【Scales of Absurdity】 【Castle】 【Sky Corridor】
Functions: Invisibility Mode, Mental Ringtone Mode, Save & Load
Cell: 7/10
Authority: Destruction (破却)
「Lee Si-woo」 ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆
Level: 307
Race: Human
Talent: [1] Danger Sense (Anetium) [2] Mana’s Blessing (Will) [3] Antennae (Ogong) [4] Mental Link (Tentacle)
Technique: Hexagram
Unique Ability: Mineral Body (Platinum)
Standing before the Scales of Absurdity, Si-woo currently had two options.
The first was to use the Save & Load function, which could summon items he had possessed for over a day or elixirs he had consumed, to duplicate an Element Stone with the scales.
The second was to duplicate the Promotion Pill he received as the prize for winning the evaluation match.
In truth, thinking simply, it was strange to even hesitate.
Anyone could see that the weight of a Promotion Pill was far less than that of an Element Stone.
However, the key was efficiency.
Si-woo asked the young Butler standing beside him like a shadow.
“Butler, how many souls did you say it takes to duplicate an Element Stone?”
“One hundred.”
He had heard it once before, but hearing it a second time did not lessen the shock.
Considering a Circle Potion required only five souls, this was a twenty-fold difference.
It was an absurdly preposterous number.
“I know that Element Stones are one of the rarest things in the Main Dimension, but to require a hundred souls… it’s completely incomparable to a Circle Potion.”
“The value judgment of the Scales of Absurdity is based on the market price of all things, so its demands strictly follow worldly perception.”
“Hmm, which means other mages value Element Stones far more highly than Circle Potions.”
“Yes. There is the difference in rarity, but it can also be seen as the fundamental difference between a Circle Potion, which merely turns an ordinary person into a mage, and an Element Stone, which transforms a mage’s very foundation—the mana root—into fertile soil.”
“True… to think that all twelve Magic Towers were stirred up by a single Element Stone…”
“Ultimately, the realistic choice is the Promotion Pill. It only requires five souls.”
“Ha, so it’s valued the same as a Circle Potion.”
“In terms of rarity, the Circle Potion is far more valuable, but in terms of functional value, the Promotion Pill surpasses it, so it seems their value has been judged as equal.”
“I have no choice. Butler, for now, could you exchange three of the 25 souls I’ve secured for Promotion Pills, and two for Circle Potions?”
“Promotion Pills, I understand, but Circle Potions as well?”
“Yes. I have a use for them.”
“Hmm… indeed, considering the rarity of the Circle Potion itself is higher, this is also an excellent choice when you factor in its utility. The most precious is the Element Stone, but… since the Element Tree has been created, the Element Stone is not of great need to you, my Lord.”
Si-woo gave a bitter smile.
“That may be true, but in the end, it’s only a matter of time. I’ll have to duplicate the Element Stone eventually.”
The Butler tilted his head.
“The Element Stone?”
“Yes. I’ve come to need it to survive.”
Kenyon believed Si-woo had learned a Forbidden Art from Autoreu and was now targeting him.
With a 6-Circle mage, an absolute powerhouse of the frontier continent, after him, he wouldn’t find a way to survive with half-baked measures.
Therefore, Si-woo had no choice but to make a bold move.
‘Kenyon, it seems you want to pick my flesh from my bones… but I’m sorry, that’s not going to happen. You’re going to need me soon. Yes, so desperately that you’ll never be able to abandon me.’
Si-woo’s lips twisted into a smirk.
It was a hideous smile, stained with malice.
***
Isabelle, invited to the Lord’s tea party for the first time in a while, was thrilled.
For some reason, the intervals between the Faceless Lord’s tea parties had grown far too long lately.
Never imagining it was because the real Si-woo had been too preoccupied to pay attention to this place, Isabelle found her seat in the audience chamber.
Although it had been a while, not a single one of the main members was absent: the Deposed Orc Prince, Pames; the Human Plunderer, Karis; the Gluttonous Dragon; the Elf, Isabelle; and Pierrot Si-woo.
The Butler, with a gentle touch, served a cup of coffee to each of them and spoke.
“As it has been some time, please feel free to converse at your leisure today.”
At the news that the tea party would be a long one, everyone’s eyes lit up. Just then, Si-woo, who had kept a low profile until now, immediately raised his hand.
The gazes of the participants, excluding the glutton who was sleeping with his head on the table, focused on Si-woo.
“Sir Plunderer, would you be willing to make a deal with me?”
The Plunderer, wearing a thief’s mask, tilted his head and asked back.
“A deal?”
“Yes. There is something I need.”
“Let’s hear it first.”
“I need irredeemable criminals who habitually commit violent crimes like murder and rape. Alive.”
People like Yahalong or Isabelle, being in positions where they had to be mindful of public perception, had their limits when it came to securing criminals.
However, the Plunderer, a member of Racist, would be different.
Being at the center of human power, securing criminals would be easy for him.
“Not a difficult task. How many do you need?”
“The more, the better, but I need at least a hundred.”
A silence fell over the audience chamber at Si-woo’s short and firm reply. Isabelle, who had been listening to their conversation with pricked ears, was so surprised her mouth fell open.
‘What the hell, that crazy bastard Si-woo. Last time he said he needed 50, why does he suddenly need a hundred now? That bastard… what is he planning to do with so many people? You son of a bitch. What are you really plotting? Huh?’
While everyone, to some degree, was surprised, the Plunderer showed no surprise, not even a change in emotion.
“It’s tricky, but not impossible. The price?”
“Will one Circle Potion suffice?”
At the mention of a Circle Potion, Orc Pames and Isabelle stared at Si-woo with surprised eyes.
They wondered where on earth Si-woo, who wasn’t the Faceless Lord himself, had obtained such a precious item.
Unlike them, whose reactions were immediate, the Plunderer merely sipped his coffee and spoke with an unreadable nuance.
“A fair trade. I accept.”
Even as he made the decision to trade the lives of a hundred people for a single elixir, the Plunderer showed not a shred of hesitation.
Si-woo, wearing the pierrot mask, spoke.
“Would one more deal be possible?”
“Hmm, as long as the price is right, certainly.”
“I need a connection to a high-ranking member of the Wilderness Magic Tower.”
Si-woo mentioned the Wilderness Magic Tower because he knew the Racist-affiliated wandering mage siblings, Roben, whom he had saved during the selection trials, had headed there.
Although he didn’t know much about the Plunderer, he was certain that with his skills, suspected to be a high-ranking member of Racist, he would have established at least one connection in the Wilderness Magic Tower.
“The Wilderness Magic Tower… the reason?”
“I will give you one more Circle Potion.”
Instead of giving a reason, Si-woo bluntly offered compensation, and the Plunderer did not ask for a reason again.
“I accept this deal.”