The Negotiation (1)

After he left the Mage's Tower, the first thing Hanseong did upon coming back to himself was connect to the Auction House.

I have to tell everyone.

Phase 3 was about to begin. As he judged it, this was a matter bound up with the survival of humanity itself. He had no firm proof—only the instinctive certainty that it was so.

So he went straight to the Information Strategy Board and wrote a post.

He chose a title that would catch the eye, and he set the body of the post down in as much detail as he could. There was nothing in it he needed to hide.

How long passed after that?

Only when the dark sky began to pale did the writing finally come to an end. He published the post, and before long the comments started to pile on.

Most of them did nothing but ramble about his level. Still, once a little more time had passed, comments that actually touched the post began to show up.

The tower administrators, unfriendly?

V, who oversaw the trials, he could grant. But A had been more than kind—downright well-disposed toward him.

Do the administrators have different personalities?

Or did A show an unfriendly face to mages other than him? The question flickered up, and he shook it off at once.

What mattered now was Phase 3.

Either way, with this...

He had passed along whatever information might help.

All that remained was to tell Jihye and the survivors around him. With that done, Hanseong left the Auction House without hesitation.

Next was the Air Wing, and a meeting with the Enchanter—to talk about a means of travel driven by Ether.

So he spoke to Jihye at once.

"Jihye. Got a second to talk?"

The moment he reached her through the Blood Mark, her answer came back.

"Ah, Mage! You're back?"

"Yeah. How long has it been?"

"As of today, exactly four days."

The time he had spent in the tower was about four hours.

If four days had passed outside, then one hour in the tower was a day in the real world.

Once he understood the gap between the Mage's Tower and reality, Hanseong nodded in silence. Then he turned his attention back to Jihye.

"More importantly, the Enchanter. Is he at the Air Wing?"

"Yes. There's a bit of a problem, though..."

"A problem? What kind?"

"Something troublesome came up while we were bringing the Uijeongbu survivors in."

Jihye sighed, out of nowhere, then spoke again.

"Oh! Right. Now that I think of it, I'm supposed to meet the Enchanter a little later. If you don't mind, would you like to join us, Mage?"

"Sure. I'll come."

"Okay! Then I'll see you at the Air Wing's main gate."

The conversation ended there.

But what was this troublesome business?

The question rose, and he set it aside just as quickly. He could ask when they met.

Phantom came out of the Inventory.

It loosened up with a light stretch, then headed for the Air Wing at Hanseong's command.

Main Gate 1 of Suwon Air Wing.

He was watching the entrance begin to choke with survivors streaming in from every direction when a voice called out.

"Mage! Over here!"

A familiar face appeared beyond the gate.

Jihye. She waved, smiling as if she were glad to see him, then pointed to a black military vehicle parked at her side.

"You can get in here."

"Hm? Where's the Enchanter, that we need a car..."

"At headquarters. With my great-uncle."

The meeting with the Enchanter, she added, was to discuss what lay ahead.

At her word, Hanseong put Phantom in the car without argument. Jihye climbed in after and shut ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the door, and a low voice came from the driver's seat.

"Departing now."

The vehicle pulled smoothly away.

Jihye sank back into the soft leather seat and drew something from her pocket.

A white smartphone.

As naturally as she might have before the Cataclysm, she tapped the call button. A moment later the other party answered, and she stated her business at once.

The call ended short. Hanseong moved Phantom's finger and pointed at the phone.

"That..."

"Ah, I got it from the Enchanter."

A smartphone imbued with a long-range communication skill.

As thanks for the help, the Enchanter had handed over six of them. They had gone to Jihye, the brigadier general, and the Special Mission Battalion.

Of those, the phones used by Jihye and the general could connect as many as three lines at once, which made them a little more special than the rest.

"I see."

Hanseong nodded quietly.

His curiosity was settled, so it was time for the real subject. He gave voice to the question left over from their earlier talk.

"Anyway. What was this troublesome business?"

"Ah, that..."

Jihye hesitated, then let out a sigh.

And she began.

"Two days ago, while we were helping the Uijeongbu survivors relocate, there was an armed clash with a special forces unit under the Sejong Provisional Government."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Last time, the Enchanter said he'd requested rescue from the Sejong Provisional Government, remember?"

The memory came back.

When they were surrounded by the Steel Machine Golem, he had charged Seoyeon and the other companions outside Uijeongbu with calling for help.

Recalling it, Hanseong turned to Jihye.

"Didn't that fall through?"

Of course it had. Sejong had answered that they would rescue the Enchanter alone, not everyone.

Unable to abandon his companions and slip away by himself, the Enchanter had reached not for Sejong, but for the Suwon Provisional Government.

"Right. I thought so too. The Enchanter figured the matter was already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finished. But it seems Sejong saw it differently."

According to Jihye, the moment the Sejong Provisional Government confirmed the Enchanter's existence and whereabouts, they dispatched a special forces unit to Uijeongbu.

An elite unit of people level 20 and above.

They pitched a temporary camp on the road along the city limits and watched the situation closely. Their purpose was singular: secure the Enchanter.

"Then, once they belatedly confirmed the Steel Machine Golem was gone, they tried to move into the city. Of course, they ran into us before they could."

"So what happened?"

"It turned into a shouting match over taking the Enchanter. He wanted to come with us, but they kept digging in, and..."

In the end, it became an armed clash.

The result was Suwon's victory.

Naturally. The Uijeongbu survivors, Enchanter included, had stood with Suwon—and with the Special Mission Battalion there as well, it was not a fight they could lose.

"And Seo Haeun did a great deal, too."

"Oh? What did she do?"

"The moment a clash looked likely, she used a skill called Lightning Flash and subdued the enemy commander in an instant. Thanks to that, it ended early."

Lightning Flash. The skill book Hanseong had given her.

Anyway, it was a relief the whole thing had closed without ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠major losses. That didn't mean there was no problem left.

"Word of what happened seems to have reached the Sejong Provisional Government, though. I think this may get a little more serious than we expected."

"So that's what it was."

"Yes. That's why my great-uncle has so much on his mind. We decided to walk a different path from Sejong, but making an enemy of them is another matter."

Fighting among humans, when fighting monsters was already more than enough? Then there was only one result. Mutual destruction.

But...

It probably wouldn't swell into all-out war.

Unless Sejong's strength was far greater, a clash between sides of similar power would deal heavy damage to both.

Above all, Hanseong was in Suwon.

So if a situation came that looked likely to produce a great many dead, he meant to step into the fight and stop it.

This was not the time for humans to be killing one another.

From here on, we have to join forces.

Goals like retaking the capital, Seoul, or securing safe zones and food could wait until after they had weathered Phase 3, and be taken up one step at a time. It would not be too late.

Once the talk of Sejong was finished, Hanseong changed the subject.

"Anything special happen while I was gone?"

"Ah, I have a few things to report."

Jihye held up three fingers.

Then she folded one down as she spoke.

"First, Seo Haeun entered the tower."

"What? When?"

"Yesterday."

With the operation to move the Uijeongbu survivors as her last task, Haeun had entered the Assassin's Tower.

Jihye wrapped up the news of Haeun quickly and drew a bottle from her pack.

"The next change is this."

"Hm? A potion?"

"Yes. My proficiency built up quite a lot, so the crafting grade went up."

Jihye smiled, plainly pleased with herself.

Hanseong looked over the potion she handed him.

Set against the lesser potion, which had restored 60 mana per 10 milliliters, it was a considerable jump.

And if you drank 100 milliliters, there was even a special effect that restored still more.

"From now on, I'll make them like this for you."

"Yeah. That works for me."

Hanseong smiled, satisfied. From here on, recovering mana would be a little easier.

Having delivered the second piece of news, Jihye moved on to the third and last change.

"Lastly, I completed a quest, too."

"You mean the Job Quest?"

"Yes. And this morning I reached level 30 and earned the right to enter the tower. I'm not planning to go in right away, of course."

She meant to enter after Haeun returned.

A sound judgment. Whatever anyone said, Jihye and Haeun were the core of the Special Mission Battalion. If both of them were gone, its strength would weaken by that much.

"So tell me, too."

"Tell you what?"

"About the tower. If you can, explain it in more detail than you did for Seo Haeun."

Jihye leaned her face in close.

With a look that was, for some reason, distinctly sulky.

Hanseong reflexively drew Phantom's body back and answered in an awkward tone.

"Uh, yeah. I'll explain it properly."

"Hehe. Then that's fine."

Jihye sat up straight.

As if she had never worn that sulky face at all, she held a bright smile. And just then—

Screech!

The vehicle running along the road came to a stop.

They had arrived at headquarters, their destination.

Knock, knock.

"General. Captain Lee Jihye."

"Come in."

The moment permission fell, Jihye threw the door open.

Beyond it, two familiar faces: Brigadier General Lee Jongpil, and Uijeongbu's Enchanter, Lee Minjae.

"I've brought the Mage."

At Jihye's words, Minjae's eyes went wide. While he stared blankly at Phantom, Hanseong offered the greeting first.

"Good to meet you. I'm the Fire-Lightning Mage."

"Ah! Yes, I'm, uh, Lee Minjae. They call me the Enchanter of Uijeongbu."

The formal introductions had barely ended before Minjae spoke again.

"Um, but..."

Phantom only looked at him.

"How are you moving around in a body like that?"

Unexpected—and a question that seemed to see straight through whatever was inside Phantom. How did he know? As Hanseong wondered, Minjae supplied the answer himself.

"Ah! I have a unique skill called Analysis Eye. It lets me grasp the internal structure of objects, so..."

So he had a skill like that.

Come to think of it, Hanseong didn't believe he had ever looked at Minjae's status. Recalling it belatedly, he used Detection at once.

Minjae's status opened before him.

A glint came into Hanseong's eyes.

His level's higher than I expected.

He had thought it would sit below Jihye's.

Then again, production classes gained experience simply by making things, so perhaps it was only natural.

More than that—a skill whose effect was to read the internal structure of an object.

No wonder he was surprised.

To Minjae's eyes, Phantom must have looked like a mannequin moving of its own accord. Hanseong told the marveling young man the truth.

Phantom was something like a robot piloted from a distance, and the real body was somewhere else.

"Ah, so that's how it was."

Minjae nodded once he understood.

The curiosity and interest in his eyes, though, did not fade. A moment later he turned back to Phantom and spoke with care.

"Um, even later would be fine, but could I take a look at the body sometime? I can't stop wondering how it moves."

"Sure. I don't mind."

"Thank you! Oh, and you can speak comfortably. I heard from my sister that you're much older than I am..."

"All right. I'll do that."

Hanseong didn't refuse. Dropping the formalities was easier for him, too.

As the greetings wound down, Brigadier General Lee Jongpil, who had held his place in silence, opened his mouth.

"Everyone concerned seems to be here, so I'll get to the matter at hand."

What had already passed with the Sejong Provisional Government, and what was still to come. Having set it up that way, the general launched straight into the account.