Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: ACT.15 Kings' Return (5)
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“Hm? What’s this?”
When I handed him the ‘Anomalous Dimensional Stone’, Min Gyeong-hoon’s expression changed completely.
Just as I expected.
There was no way Min Gyeong-hoon, a scientist to the bone, wouldn’t be interested in something he didn’t know.
“Is this interesting enough for you?”
As Min Gyeong-hoon reached out to snatch it, I dodged him lightly, and he immediately looked exasperated.
I planned to borrow Min Gyeong-hoon’s power to figure out the dimensional stone’s identity, but I had no intention of handing it over easily.
“What the. Why won’t you give it to me!?”
“What makes you think I’d just hand over something this valuable?”
“You brought it to me because there’s no one else who can figure it out. Am I wrong?”
Min Gyeong-hoon exclaimed confidently.
It was a well-founded confidence; as he said, others didn’t have the power to figure something like this out.
However, that was only true for Seoul.
“If your skills aren’t up to snuff, I can just go find Kim Hee-chan.”
“What? You know where that guy is…?”
For once, Min Gyeong-hoon was flustered.
The ‘Hacking’ speciality was rare, even on a global scale.
In the country, you could count them on both hands.
Among them, the ones called the top two were Min Gyeong-hoon and Kim Hee-chan.
Public opinion rated them similarly, but Min Gyeong-hoon himself felt both a sense of inferiority and rivalry toward Kim Hee-chan.
It was so bad that later, when we became close enough to share our inner thoughts, he would grumble, ‘If I’m a fake genius, that guy is a real one.’
The problem was that Kim Hee-chan was incredibly elusive.
“You’re lying. Trying to get the upper hand, are you? I know what that guy’s like. He never settles in one place and hates being bothered, so he creates all sorts of weird stuff to evade the information networks of major guilds. And you’re telling me you know where he is?”
“Well, who knows.”
I offered a faint smile, neither confirming nor denying it.
At that, Min Gyeong-hoon became anxious.
Given his personality, there was no way he’d want to miss out on something that stimulated his curiosity as strongly as the dimensional stone.
I knew Min Gyeong-hoon well, but it was difficult for him to discern the truth in my words.
Especially since I had mentioned the legendary player, Crow.
Should I drive the nail in the coffin here?
“You want to research this, don’t you? Right? Then you have to give me something in return.”
“…”
“I was the one who found and met Crow. You think I can’t find Kim Hee-chan?”
Min Gyeong-hoon’s eyes wavered violently.
Bluffing worked best on types like him.
They overthink things and end up trapping themselves.
“…Damn it. What kind of guy are you? What do you want?”
“Information on the Geumeumdal Guild.”
“Geumeumdal? I think I’ve heard that name before.”
“It’s one of the unofficial guilds.”
Tilting his head, Min Gyeong-hoon took a sip of water, then started choking and pounding his chest.
“You crazy… Are you asking me to look up information on an unofficial guild right now?”
“It’s easy for you, isn’t it?”
When I put on a slightly disappointed expression, as if thinking, ‘So that’s all he’s capable of,’ he reacted immediately.
“Of course it is! Just wait a minute!”
Min Gyeong-hoon, provoked, sat down at his desk full of monitors and started doing something.
Easy.
I let out a small laugh and waited for Min Gyeong-hoon to finish his work.
“Here! Take it! I even dug up the location of their porn folder!”
I didn’t need to go that far.
I reluctantly took the bundle of papers and quickly flipped through them, checking only the important parts.
Most of it was identical to the information I knew from the game.
With a few exceptions.
‘This is…’
“There, you happy? I gave you what you wanted, right? Now give it! I can’t wait any longer!”
I clicked my tongue and handed over the dimensional stone.
The way he snatched it and examined it from all angles was like a child who had just received a new toy.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. Where’d you get it?”
“After clearing a gate.”
“You cleared a gate and this came out? I’ve never heard of that.”
“That’s why I want to know what it is, and why I’m entrusting it to you.”
“Good, good. An excellent choice. I’m much better at this kind of thing than that Kim Hee-chan guy!”
Min Gyeong-hoon laughed happily, then zipped away into an inner room with the dimensional stone.
The ‘Hacking’ speciality was an ability that could forcibly extract certain characteristics and descriptions, even from completely unknown objects.
There was no better speciality for figuring out the dimensional stone’s identity.
It wasn’t that I didn’t actually know where Kim Hee-chan was, but there was no need to go far when Min Gyeong-hoon was right here.
‘In the end, the dimensional stone never appeared in any other gate after that.’
I’d said my goal was to help the twins grow, but my real purpose was closer to this.
The dimensional stone invariably appeared in gates that were more difficult than I remembered.
On the other hand, it never once appeared in gates where the difficulty was the same.
It was certain that the dimensional stone was affecting the gate’s difficulty.
‘Is it a special reward for clearing a more difficult gate, or is it the very thing that’s making the gates more difficult?’
I recalled the alien energy I felt when I touched the stone.
It was too enigmatic to be a special reward.
For now, I was leaning toward the latter.
“I figured it out!”
Not even a few minutes after he went inside, Min Gyeong-hoon returned, beaming.
He immediately began to explain.
“This thing emits some kind of wave that interferes with the gate’s wavelength, raising the gate’s rank itself. It’s fascinating. It’s not artificial, but it doesn’t seem like anything that could exist on Earth, either. Its durability is far greater than anything on Earth.”
“So, the fact that this appeared after clearing a harder gate means…”
“It means someone intentionally put this in the gate.”
Min Gyeong-hoon affirmed, saying my thoughts were probably correct.
My expression hardened slightly.
The Disaster of Verdure had also been in an enhanced state due to a dimensional stone.
I was only able to defeat it because I had used every means possible to weaken it to the absolute maximum. The other disasters that would appear later didn’t have as many methods of weakening them.
If they were enhanced as well…
‘…I need to find a way.’
It was one of two things.
Either find a way to nullify the enhancement.
Or…
I become stronger than the enemy’s enhancement.
“The important thing is that it holds dimensional power. A remote, higher-dimensional power that transcends time and space. The very power that players theorized could only exist in theory. This stone’s value alone would easily be in the hundreds of billions!”
He spoke so passionately I thought he might start spitting.
But I could understand why he was so excited.
Dimensional power, if used correctly, was a colossal force capable of not just time travel, but even interdimensional travel.
“Any chance you’d leave this with me for a bit? It looks fun, I want to play with it.”
“No.”
I refused flatly and took the dimensional stone back.
As if I’d entrust the fish to the cat.
Min Gyeong-hoon clicked his tongue loudly, his gaze lingering on the dimensional stone with regret.
“If I find another rare item, I might come back.”
“I’ll remember that! I’ll be waiting!”
Escorted by Min Gyeong-hoon, whose expression had changed completely, I left the room.
He really was a simple guy.
‘An unexpected harvest.’
The moment I left the building, the laugh I’d been holding back burst out.
A stone containing dimensional power.
I’d suspected it ever since I saw its name was ‘dimensional stone’, but to think it was the real deal.
The reward became greater as the difficulty increased.
It could be interpreted that way.
I carefully placed the dimensional stone into my inventory.
This would have a crucial use later on.
***
“Ah, it’s nice to meet you. I couldn’t believe it, but it really is you, Kim Se-hyeon!”
“You know me?”
“Of course I do. I survived that whole mess thanks to you. I’m glad I can be of help.”
The woman smiled brightly and sat down.
The player with at least a C-rank Psychometry speciality whom I’d asked Choi Yeon-soo to find.
It was a rare ability, so it took some time to find someone who had it.
I discreetly checked her stats with Extreme Eye and saw her mana stat was just at the minimum I’d been hoping for.
It was a bit disappointing, but I’d have to be satisfied with this.
I briefly glanced at the dreary interior of the café, which claimed its half-demolished state was a “concept,” then turned my gaze back to the woman.
“I’d like you to read the memories embedded in this item.”
“I’ve never seen an item like this before.”
The dimensional stone was enveloped in a transparent blue light.
Psychometry was the ability to read a portion of the memories embedded in an object.
Being C-rank, she wouldn’t be able to find out much, but some information was always better than none.
“Hmm… Hmmm…?”
“Is something wrong?”
“No, it’s just… something’s strange… Most of it is hazy, like it’s covered in fog, so I can’t see it clearly. Ah, but I did find one peculiar thing!”
“Even that is fine. Please tell me.”
The woman cleared her throat.
“I can’t make out the face, but the last person who held this had a crescent moon-like symbol on their shoulder.”
“A crescent moon? Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
I narrowed my eyes slightly, lost in thought.
There was only one group that used that symbol.
The unofficial guild, ‘Geumeumdal’.
Unofficial guilds were groups not recognized by the government that engaged in illegal activities, and they were one of the main ones.
A group that appeared as villains in several chapters following the Disaster of Verdure.
That was why I had extracted information about them from Min Gyeong-hoon beforehand.
‘They’re using the dimensional stones?’
The dimensional stone was an item that hadn’t appeared in the original game.
Moreover, as Min Gyeong-hoon had mentioned, depending on how it was used, it was an item that held a danger incomparable to nuclear weapons.
I hesitated for a moment, then took out another dimensional stone and made the same request.
This time, the answer was slightly different.
“Ah, I see someone this time, too.”
“Do they seem to be from the same group as before?”
“No. The scene I see through this one is more… something… solemn? Ugh, I’m not sure.”
“So you didn’t see a crescent moon symbol.”
“No.”
The woman nodded firmly.
‘At least two groups.’
The Geumeumdal Guild, villains of the upcoming chapter, and another group for which I had no clear leads.
It felt like I had a lot more to think about.
“Thank you. You’ve been a great help.”
“Not at all.”
The woman gave a shy smile, bowed, and left the café.
I sighed lightly, crossed my arms, and sank into my chair.
“My business is finished, so you can come over now.”
I said to Lee Seon-yul, who was at a table a short distance away.
“You knew I was here?”
“It’s not like the café is crowded, is it?”
Lee Seon-yul gave an awkward laugh and naturally joined my table.
So far, four of the five major guilds had come to scout me.
The one that still hadn’t come was ‘Jamryong’, the guild Kim Ji-hyeon and Lee Seon-yul belonged to.
‘I thought the Jamryong Guild would be the first to come.’
So they’re the last, in the end.
It might have been because I’d already refused Lee Seon-yul when he’d tentatively asked before.
But it was a little surprising that they sent Lee Seon-yul again, the very person I’d already turned down.
“I thought you were still in the east.”
“I just stopped by to give a report. I’ll be heading back soon.”
I thought Kim Ji-hyeon was the one receiving and relaying information, but I guess Lee Seon-yul does it separately too.
It didn’t seem like something worth worrying about, so I just took a sip of my drink instead of replying.
“I’m sure you know why I’ve come.”
“Then I’m sure you know my answer as well.”
“The situation is different now than it was then.”
Lee Seon-yul gave a bitter smile.
“The prestige of the guilds is continuing to rise. They may be cooperating with the government now, but in a little more time, they will surely become a force that even the nation can’t treat lightly. Being affiliated with such a guild… that alone will grant you great influence. And for someone like you…”
For a moment, a complex mix of emotions flickered in Lee Seon-yul’s eyes.
Envy and bitterness.
When we first met, Lee Seon-yul was a B-rank player, and I was just a nobody, a beginner.
But what about now?
In less than two weeks, our positions had completely reversed.
My stats had long surpassed his; he was a B-ranker who hadn’t grown much, while I had already achieved an S-rank primary speciality.
We were already living in different worlds.
The sense of deprivation Lee Seon-yul must be feeling was by no means small.
“In any case, I didn’t come here simply to make a scouting offer.”
As if his throat was dry, Lee Seon-yul drank his half-cold tea, his expression changing as he continued.
“Our Master wishes to see you himself.”