Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: How to Seize the World
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Emperor Hyeonjong's vision filled with an unbelievable sight.
Dozens of peerlessly beautiful women clad in flowing fairy robes soared through the air, dancing gracefully. Every one of their gestures felt vividly real, as if they were right there in front of him. Fragrant floral scents pierced his nostrils, while heavenly music tickled his ears.
"Oh... Ooooh!"
Hyeonjong flailed his hands at the empty air.
"F-Fairies! The fairy's winking at me! She's waving right at me!"
Drool trickled from the corner of Hyeonjong's mouth. Any semblance of imperial dignity had long since been tossed to the dogs. He was utterly lost in a trance.
"What is this?! It looks so real! No, it's even more real than real!"
"Your Majesty, turn your head and look."
At Cheonwi's voice, Hyeonjong whipped his head around. This time, a golden pond bubbled with liquor, while exquisite delicacies floated lazily across it.
"Heheheh! Gotcha! You little—stay right there!"
Hyeonjong hopped up and down, trying to snatch a phantom drumstick floating in midair. If the eunuchs outside had heard, they would've come rushing in horror at such an undignified display, but Cheonwi simply watched with a pleased smile.
'Yes, humans are always weakest to visual stimuli.'
This pair of red gem spectacles was a magic tool that stimulated the user's brainwaves, converting their deepest desires into visual illusions. It was essentially a magical VR device.
Hyeonjong was now tasting the ultimate escape from reality. Once he had a bite of this, he'd never want to glance at another boring petition again.
That was when it happened.
Click.
Cheonwi cut off the magic supply to the spectacles and swiftly yanked them off Hyeonjong's face.
Pop.
The dazzling heavenly realm vanished in an instant, replaced by the drab ceiling of the audience chamber.
"Huh? Wh-What?"
Hyeonjong blinked dazedly, looking around. No fairies, no liquor pond, no tantalizing food. All that remained were mountains of petitions and walls scarred with ink stains.
Hyeonjong's face crumpled into a pout. Withdrawal symptoms hit him immediately.
"Hey! Why'd you take them off?! Show me more! One of the fairies was just about to jump into my arms!"
Hyeonjong stomped his feet and lunged at Cheonwi, trying to grab the spectacles, but Cheonwi easily dodged with a flick of his hand.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. This 'World of Illusions' consumes an enormous amount of magic power. And more importantly..."
Cheonwi feigned a sorrowful expression as he gestured to the towering stacks of petitions.
"Your Majesty is far too busy with affairs of state, isn't he? Processing all these petitions would take all night and then some. How could you possibly indulge in fairy frolics at a time like this?"
Hyeonjong's gaze shifted to the petitions.
In that moment, his expression soured completely.
The chasm between the heavenly bliss he'd just savored and the hellish reality before him.
That gap shattered his spirit.
"Ah... No... I don't wanna work..."
Hyeonjong clutched his head.
"It'll take three days and nights straight to read all this... When am I supposed to have fun? When can I try those spectacles again?"
"Sadly, not until the state affairs are finished, I suppose? You'll have to endure if you wish to be a sage ruler."
Cheonwi poured fuel on the fire. Hyeonjong despaired.
Sage ruler be damned—he wanted back in that spectacle world right now. Reality was pure agony.
Then, Cheonwi whispered in a secretive tone.
"But... it's not impossible."
Hyeonjong's head snapped up.
"A way? What way?"
Cheonwi paused for effect before speaking ever so cautiously.
"I could lighten Your Majesty's burden."
"Lighten my burden?"
"Yes. These headache-inducing petitions, these tedious approval documents... What if I handled them all in your stead?"
Hyeonjong's eyes wavered.
"You? But these are things only the emperor can do..."
"Your Majesty, the true authority of an emperor doesn't lie in burying yourself in paperwork and scribbling with a brush. A true emperor delegates to his subordinates and enjoys pleasure and leisure amid an era of peace and prosperity."
Cheonwi's words were sweet poison.
"Think about it. While I pull an all-nighter sorting through these dull scraps of paper, Your Majesty can don the spectacles and cavort with the fairies. The full version of the 'World of Illusions' I'm developing will make everything you imagine come true. Delicious food, beautiful women, thrilling adventures... All of it yours."
Hyeonjong heard the snap of reason breaking in his mind.
A loyal retainer(?) to handle the drudgery, and a magic tool offering infinite pleasure.
There was no reason to refuse. Refusing would make him a fool.
"Y-Yeah... You're right. I don't need to read all this myself. I'm the emperor!"
Color returned to Hyeonjong's face.
"Cheonwi, you'll have your work cut out for you. But your loyalty touches me, so I grant you special permission."
Cheonwi inwardly cheered.
'He's hooked.'
With this, administrative control of the empire was effectively in his grasp.
"Your benevolence humbles me, Your Majesty. Then..."
Cheonwi held out his palm.
"I'll need 'that' to get things done."
Hyeonjong didn't hesitate for a second. He yanked open the desk drawer and pulled out a hefty jade seal—the imperial seal, more precious than life itself, symbol of the throne's authority.
"Here! Take it! You handle everything!"
Hyeonjong tossed the seal to Cheonwi like a half-eaten apple.
Thud.
Cheonwi caught it effortlessly in one hand.
The cool touch of jade spread across his palm. This tiny stamp held the fate of the empire. And now, Cheonwi would steer that fate.
"Thanks, Cheonwi! I'm free at last!"
Hyeonjong snatched the spectacles again and dove onto the couch.
"Hurry and recharge the magic! Quick! I'm getting dizzy!"
"As you command."
Cheonwi infused magic into the spectacles. Hyeonjong vanished back into fantasy, cackling, "Hehehe, fairy big sis!"
Cheonwi gripped the seal tighter. The smile on his lips grew thicker, more sinister.
"Your benevolence humbles me. From now on... I'll be driving this empire."
He turned slowly, eyeing the folding screen he'd placed in the corner upon entering.
"Come out."
A quiet summons.
The shadow behind the screen stirred.
Swish.
The screen slid aside, revealing a woman.
It was Namgung Soyeon, the Sword Queen, dressed in white mourning garb.
She was no longer the fawning pet rolling under the desk. Her eyes were coldly serene, her entire body radiating a veiled killing intent.
She gave a brief, insect-like glance at the emperor writhing on the floor, blowing kisses at the air, then bowed to Cheonwi.
Cheonwi rolled the seal in his hand as he spoke.
"See that? Seizing the world is this easy. No need for swinging swords or spilling blood."
"I can only admire Master's stratagems."
Soyeon’s voice brimmed with genuine awe. In the martial world, might made right—but in this palace, tongue and mind ruled supreme. And her master stood at its pinnacle.
Cheonwi tucked the seal into his bosom and lifted Soyeon’s chin.
"This is just the beginning. A mere appetizer. To turn the emperor into a perfect vegetable... no, a slave to pleasure, we need to reshape his environment first."
"His environment, Master?"
"Exactly. How can he dream properly on that stiff bed? We need to craft a cradle so plush, so irresistible, he'll never want to leave it."
Cheonwi's gaze drifted toward Hyeonjong's bedchamber.
"Tomorrow, I'll summon the technicians. We'll remodel the bed and lay barriers over the entire room. You guard the entrance—no one disturbs him."
"Shall I kill the interlopers?"
Cheonwi stroked her hair with a chuckle.
"No, killing comes later. For now..."
He scanned the emperor's bedroom. Simple VR goggles wouldn't suffice. To trap him here forever, they needed a 'system' that would melt into his very bones.
"We complete the pen. A simple, addictive breeding pen."
Cheonwi's mind already brimmed with blueprints to transform the emperor's bed into a massive magitech pleasure device.
Clink-clank.
The emperor's bedchamber, Gangnyeong Hall, had turned into an unexpected construction site.
These weren't ordinary carpenters or masons. Masked in black, they exuded eerie magic—Cheonwi's secretly trained Dark Heaven technicians.
They moved with machine-like precision, dismantling the opulent yet utterly mundane dragon bed.
"Handle it with care. Each of those magic stones costs as much as an imperial legion's budget."
Cheonwi instructed quietly, hands clasped behind his back.
"Yes, Vice Chief!"
The technicians sweated profusely as they embedded four pillars thicker than a man's thigh into the bed's corners. Intricate magic circles etched their surfaces, glowing with a faint purple hue.
Hyeonjong gawked with his mouth agape, watching like a child awaiting a new toy.
"Cheonwi, what on earth is that? Why are those pillars sparkling like that? It'll be too bright to sleep at night!"
"Your Majesty, those aren't mere lights. They're 'Dimensional Amplifiers' crafted from Dreamstone excavated from ancient ruins."
"Dreamstone? Dimensional Amplifier?"
Cheonwi grinned and kneaded Hyeonjong's shoulders.
"Remember those spectacles? That was just a teaser. This bed preserves Your Majesty's body in perfect comfort while guiding your mind to utter paradise—a dimensional gateway. We shall call it the 'Dreamstone Bed'."
"Ooooh...!"
Hyeonjong's eyes nearly turned the same violet as the Dreamstone.
The technicians finished the final touches. The mattress was a special alchemical composite of cloud sheep wool and deep-sea slime mucus. Sink into it once, and it cradled you like zero gravity—pure, narcotic bliss.
"Installation complete, Chief."
As the technician stepped back, Cheonwi pointed to the bed.
"There, Your Majesty. Take it for a test drive."
Hyeonjong kicked off his shoes and leaped onto the bed.
Squish.
"Hnnngh!"
Hyeonjong's body seemed sucked into the mattress. His spine decompressed vertebra by vertebra, muscle tension melting away like snow in spring. Comfort beyond anything he'd ever known.
"What is this?! My body's disappearing! It's like floating on clouds!"
Hyeonjong rolled around ecstatically, whooping with delight.
"You're not amazed yet. The real show starts now."