Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: VPN
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[Passive Skill: Eyes Open]
[Description: Opens the eyes.]
I blinked.
But the familiar text didn't change.
"Aw, come on. No way. It can't be...."
A precious level-up opportunity like this was really flying away?
In this ridiculous manner?
"No way. It can't be. It has to not be...."
That was when a new system window popped up in front of me.
[You have acquired a duplicate skill.]
[Passive Skill 'Eyes Open' evolves.]
[Passive Skill: Insight Eyes]
[Description: What you see is not everything.]
"There's skill evolution too?"
Either way, this was a definite win.
I suddenly started feeling at ease.
The skill effect of Insight Eyes was still unhelpfully vague, so I had no idea what it did.
But there was no way it could be a dud.
The original was the first platinum-grade skill I'd ever gotten.
I'd been benefiting from Eyes Open's effects to this day.
Combining two of those skills couldn't possibly make it worse.
"It's like it fused into a 3-star skill, so maybe quasi-rainbow grade? That would be a real jackpot...."
With this unexpected windfall, I grinned to myself as I exited the Tower.
First, I needed to recheck everything Eyes Open had let me do.
But as soon as I stepped out of the Tower, I froze in place.
"Huh?"
I blinked dumbly.
The Tower's color was off.
It wasn't the pitch-black pillar that seemed to swallow all light, like I'd always seen.
The Tower's surface was faintly glowing purple.
Above it, unrecognizable geometric patterns rippled slowly, like waves on water.
"It definitely wasn't like this when I entered the Tower...."
Had something happened in the meantime? No, that couldn't be.
This was just how it looked to my eyes.
Because I'd just awakened them anew....
Instinctively, I realized some magic had been cast on the Tower.
"So that's it. Magic looks like this, huh."
Come to think of it, this was the first time I'd seen someone else's magic since getting Eyes Open.
No, even before Eyes Open, I hadn't seen any real magic.
Magmakno? No matter how I looked at it, that lunatic's stuff wasn't proper magic.
A sight I'd never witnessed before in my life.
I was captivated by the eerie beauty of the magic.
As if entranced, I approached the Tower.
But with each step I took closer, I could see the magic on the Tower's surface roiling.
It was trying to get away from me.
Like it was a living thing, avoiding my presence.
What was going on?
I was overwhelmingly curious. A sudden desire welled up to know everything about this magic.
Considering my personality, that was odd.
Plus, this nagging certainty that I was a mage that had been creeping in since earlier.
The mage intuition that had guided me so many times before was telling me.
Even if I touched it, there'd be no harm to me.
No, it was warning me that smashing it outright would be safer.
As if entranced, I reached out and placed my hand on the Tower's wall.
That was the moment.
Crash-!
A sound like a massive glass window shattering rocked the surroundings.
The purple magic enveloping the Tower's surface shattered into fragments of light and scattered.
"What!"
Beeeeeep-! Beeeeeep-!
Car alarms blared all at once from the vehicles parked nearby.
Panicking, I turned and bolted straight home.
"Haa, haa...."
The moment I got home, I turned on the computer.
Then I logged into the Mage Gallery as usual.
I had to figure out what the hell had just happened.
[Title: Just touched the Tower and something weird happened]
Author: Anonymous (D44.444)
I saw something like waves on the Tower so I touched it?
Suddenly there's this huge glass-shattering sound around me.
Looked like some kind of magic was on it to me.
Car alarms everywhere going off, total chaos. What is this?
Feels like I fucked up bad....
The Mage Gallery users reacted gravely to my post.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: What? Explain in detail.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Magic on the Tower? I'll go check right now.
ㄴ Refrigerator: That glass-shattering sound earlier... was that it? I'll head out and investigate too. I'm the only researcher here anyway.
ㄴ Pkatchu: I wouldn't know shit even if I went anyway. Recommend breakfast instead.
The three of them left to investigate.
Only Pkatchu steadfastly kept posting nonsense as usual.
I anxiously refreshed while waiting for them.
"Oh, should check Hunter Gallery too."
The thought hit me.
Sure enough, when I switched over, people were already in an uproar.
[Title: Anyone hear that glass shattering just now?]
[Title: Crack in my house window, wtf is this]
[Title: Not just Incheon? What the fuck]
"...This didn't just happen here?"
No matter how I looked at it, it felt like I'd done something enormous.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine as I trembled.
This couldn't be. My mage intuition had definitely said it was fine.
***
Meanwhile, at that very moment, in the United States. Pentagon underground bunker.
A massive operation to hunt down a single person was underway.
The operation director stood with arms crossed, staring at the central screen.
The screen displayed the status of tracking magic across each continent in complex graphs.
"Europe sector: no anomalies."
"Asia sector stable as well."
The reports were going smoothly. Everything was on plan.
If Double O just showed up at the Tower again, the web of tracking magic they'd spun would pinpoint his location instantly.
That was when.
"Huh?"
A low voice from one analyst broke the control room's silence.
"Director? One tracking magic signal in the Europe sector just vanished."
The director's brow furrowed slightly.
"Report."
"Cause unknown. Could be a system error...."
The agent's words hadn't even finished.
Beep- Beep- Beep-
A shrill alarm blared through the entire control room.
Dozens of monitors flooded with red error messages simultaneously.
"Asia sector, all tracking magic vanished!"
"Key outpost CCTV feeds all turned to noise!"
"Europe, North America... signals cut across all sectors!"
It happened in an instant.
The control room plunged into chaos.
Frenzied keyboard clacks mixed with shouted situation reports.
The director bellowed.
"What the hell is going on! Figure it out now!"
The lead analyst stood, face pale.
His voice trembled faintly in disbelief.
"Director... it's impossible.... Every tracking spell worldwide was neutralized simultaneously, without a single second's discrepancy."
"And that's not all. The surveillance troops around the Tower, their comms network, every CCTV—all crippled at the exact same moment."
At the lead analyst's report, every sound in the control room ceased.
An eerie silence fell.
The agents stared blankly at each other.
The director's lips twitched as he eyed the chaotic screens.
"Guess I should take a swimming crash course before diving into the Atlantic."
***
A little later, people returned to the Mage Gallery.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Situation grasped. Looks like the newbie pulled off something huge again.
ㄴ Refrigerator: There was incredibly stealthy, powerful tracking magic on the Tower. The moment you touched it, it all blew up. What the hell did you do?
ㄴ Anonymous (211.58): Uuu.... I'm just a noob.... I don't know anything....
Magic Firepower, who managed the Busan Tower, seemed pretty flustered by this.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: That's what it was? I couldn't see a thing....
ㄴ Refrigerator: Normal to not see it. I had research gear, that's why.... And Dung Beetle's S-rank, so he spotted something probably.
ㄴ Refrigerator: But this was the government, right?
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Yeah. Went to the Blue House and pressed them, they admitted it straight up.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Said they had no choice due to Demigod and pressure from other countries' governments. Of course, not just letting it slide on that.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: What a headache.
ㄴ Refrigerator: Whoa, didn't know you went in that hard. First time seeing you like this.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Honestly, even I'm pissed at this level.
A heavy silence settled over the gallery comments for a moment.
Magic Firepower broke it.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: Anyway, that was close to a real disaster, newbie. Got it?
ㄴ Magic Firepower: You gotta be more careful.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: No, even saying that doesn't reassure me. Where do you live? Just come to Busan already? I'll protect you. Why not?
ㄴ Pkatchu: That auntie's the most dangerous one!!!
A sudden thought hit me, and I typed it out.
ㄴ Anonymous (211.58): But I think I know why this happened.
ㄴ Anonymous (F44.444): Magmakno's magic. Looking back, he said weird stuff like 'escape from causality' or whatever.
ㄴ Anonymous (211.58): Maybe that was actually magic to free you from tracking spells like this?
The others agreed my perfect deduction made sense.
ㄴ Refrigerator: Hearing it now, yeah. You've shrugged off tracking magic dozens of times by now.
ㄴ Pkatchu: Even that extreme proof post on Hunter Gallery didn't get you caught somehow.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: I had the NIS wipe the records for that.
ㄴ Anonymous (F44.444): Godbeetle, what are you.... (hugs)
The gallery's mood lightened considerably.
Now it really felt like everything was resolved.
ㄴ Magic Firepower: Anyway, Magmakno's magic has to have some risk. Wonder what it is. Shouldn't we find out?
The moment Magic Firepower said that.
Pkatchu noticed something.
ㄴ Pkatchu: Huh? Newbie's IP is weird.
ㄴ Pkatchu: Wait, no—newbie's back to normal.
At Pkatchu's baffling words, I checked beside my nickname.
Anonymous (211.58)
"Fuck?"
I freaked and hurriedly posted.
[Title: Test]
Author: Anonymous (211.58)
Content: Right now
My IP had indeed returned to normal.
Was this a time-limited spell?
Or usage limit?
Either way, disaster.
"No!"
I wailed desperately.
ㄴ Anonymous (211.58): No, my invincible VPN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ㄴ Refrigerator: Calm down. The tracking magic's all gone now anyway.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Yeah, nothing to fear. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility and shield you, so don't worry.
I posted another test. This time, the IP had reverted to its original weird state.
ㄴ Pkatchu: Oh? Back again. Guess the magic hasn't fully worn off.
ㄴ Refrigerator: Then you're still good for now.
But my scream meant something else.
ㄴ Anonymous (22E.E4): Nah. Now that it's like this, gotta spam all the shitposts I wanted before the VPN effect ends. Cya.
With that post, I bolted to Hunter Gallery.
A silence fell over the remaining Mage Gallery.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Sometimes he's really not easy.
ㄴ Refrigerator: Kinda curious what he looks like IRL. My guess: 30s dudebro for sure.
ㄴ Pkatchu: No, definitely a girl. Saw her clone last time. Said she mains female chars cause she's a guy, but that's bullshit IMO. Think she's my age.
ㄴ Dung Beetle: Whatever. Don't bother hunting her down now. We'll find out eventually anyway.