The Pantheon Takes Interest
Shrink!
I activated Shrink, the divine technique that folds space itself to move the body.
“Oh, this is wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Just look at these readings!”
Amelia Tesla’s voice brimmed with excitement. Her cheeks flushed, eyes sparkling as she analyzed the data from Shrink.
Why the data analysis? The moment she witnessed Shrink at the Plaza Hotel, she begged me to come to her lab. We moved to the Raydon Company research facility on the outskirts of New York—more precisely, their combined lab and company building—where I demonstrated Shrink while wearing various monitoring devices.
Multiple readings floated across the panels. Raydon’s instruments meticulously recorded every anomaly that occurred when Shrink was used.
“Your dedication to your investor is truly admirable.”
“Please don’t mock me, Goddess.”
“Hoh. I merely spoke the truth.”
“Saying that while covering your mouth doesn’t make it convincing at all, you know?”
Nyx clicked her tongue. “Tch.”
Somehow, her speech patterns were starting to resemble mine. Must be my imagination.
After repeated uses of Shrink, Amelia waved her hand.
“That’s enough!”
With a mechanical whir, the lab door opened and white-coated researchers poured in. Amelia Tesla, standing at the front, began directing them with commanding energy.
“Hurry with the mana pattern analysis. And during spatial movement…”
Technical jargon poured out without pause. The Tower’s translation effect would handle it, but I couldn’t understand a single word.
After several minutes of nonstop talking, Amelia finally looked my way.
“Mr. Yu!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Thank you so much! That technique called Shrink will be an enormous help to our research!!”
She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously up and down.
“Amelia, if it’s not too much trouble, how exactly does analyzing Shrink relate to your spatial movement research?”
I asked with a slightly puzzled expression. Spatial movement belonged to the realm of magic. Shrink, closer to Seon Magic, operated on an entirely different mechanism.
“The ability you showed me—Shrink—reveals the nature of space itself.”
Skills provided by the Tower of Babel included short- and long-range movement techniques like Blink or Warp. Raydon had invested heavily in proving the existence of space that was present yet imperceptible.
“Wouldn’t analyzing Warp be more useful then?”
“With Warp, you twist space using immense mana to create a rift and move through it. Beyond that, we couldn’t get any closer.”
Amelia Tesla’s goal was ambitious. She wanted to install a global spatial movement network and revolutionize modern logistics.
“The skill you demonstrated folds the gap between spaces to move, doesn’t it?”
“Well…”
It was a skill born from Fusion Qigong. Even I only understood its principles theoretically, not completely. I was getting a feel for the concept, but it wasn’t clear enough to explain to someone else.
Thanks to the equipment, Amelia Tesla had grasped most of the origin and principles of Shrink—something I had only begun to understand—in less than a day.
“With a little more research, we might uncover the true essence of space itself!”
Just as another torrent of theory was about to spill from Amelia’s mouth, I quickly cut in.
“Will you accept investment?”
“You won’t regret it, Investor.”
Amelia subtly changed how she addressed me. I smiled in satisfaction.
* * *
The bloodbath in the Dunhuang Desert. And the sparring with Ellen’s Golden Circle team. The truth behind both incidents never reached the public. At least, not from the perspective of “humans.”
Those who observed mortals from the Pantheon saw things differently. The constellations were another matter entirely. Beings capable of watching those who crossed dimensional walls to offer sponsorship.
Constellations affiliated with Sinister. The Blood Demon. Hephaestus. Sun Wukong. Athena. And many others engraved Yu Jinho’s exploits into their eyes.
An irregular who had drawn the attention of four god-king level constellations. That wasn’t all. In less than a year after acquiring a player’s abilities, he had transcended the limits of his species.
“Humans. We thought them merely weak mortals.”
“There may be others besides Yu Jinho who possess latent potential.”
“Earth… Does it hide powers we do not know?”
“It wouldn’t be bad to sponsor promising talents in advance.”
The constellations turned their attention to Earth, the epicenter of this anomaly. They judged that besides Jinho’s extraordinary actions and power, other hidden gems must exist.
The first to act were the Olympians. Based on Olympian mythology, they gathered every player from Greek-adjacent nations who showed exceptional potential.
“The great Sky God has given us a revelation!”
Alexis Papandreou. Zeus’s contractor, who had suffered a humiliating defeat at Jinho’s hands in the past. Though only Gold rank, he began recruiting numerous players by promising them contracts with Olympian constellations. Fittingly, he named his guild [Olympus].
With full support from the constellations, Olympus rapidly expanded its influence.
“Receive the Sun’s revelation.”
Horus, leader of the Ennead, was stimulated by Olympus’s moves and began actively sponsoring human players as well. The spiritual energy—or divine power—that served as a constellation’s source didn’t consume as much as one might expect when receiving mortal reverence and inscribing one’s name among the stars.
What mattered was that the constellations, unlike in the previous life, had begun taking interest in Earth. Thanks to this, player levels were rising at a steep rate.
“I will personally discover the second Yu Jinho.”
“How long has it been since we last competed like this?”
“This is the most fun I’ve had since the last Great War!”
Some constellations threw themselves into the whirlwind shaking the Pantheon, while others wore bitter expressions.
“Yu Jinho is the gem I discovered!”
Ares erupted in rage while watching the overheated sponsorship competition. He should have formed a contractor contract the moment he found Jinho in the tutorial. Jinho was a brilliant star shining in the darkness. By hesitating to observe his potential, Ares had lost his chance.
Ares wasn’t the only one who had suffered a setback. The Sinister constellations who had poured power into Abdul Hamad lost their puppets without even recovering the spiritual energy they had spent.
“Isn’t this better?”
Loki, the core of Sinister, let out a bizarre laugh from behind his comical mask.
“What we want is entertainment.”
The Sinister constellations welcomed the new changes that chaos brought, rather than focusing on gains and losses. Some held grudges against Jinho, but Loki, Sinister’s master strategist, restrained them from acting further.
Countless sponsorships from the constellations. Amid the constantly shifting currents of the future, many minds became entangled.
* * *
About a month had passed since my meeting with Amelia Tesla. The original plan was to invest in Raydon and return to Korea, but after seeing their research facilities, my thoughts changed.
“To think you would completely make Shrink your own power in such a short time.”
“Thanks to the analysis team.”
I smiled contentedly. The skill born from Fusion Qigong, Shrink was so useful that it served as a decisive move in urgent battlefields. That was why I had always kept one Fusion Qigong slot locked to use Shrink. Thanks to a month of research, that was no longer necessary.
While assisting Amelia’s research, I had succeeded in perfectly analyzing the rules of spatial movement. The moment I took a single step, the distance to the designated location became zero. Shrink. I had manifested this mysterious art—neither magic, nor physical technique, nor martial art—using only my own power.
“The Monkey King of Flower Fruit Mountain admires you.”
“The Monkey King of Flower Fruit Mountain urges you onward.”
After merely observing until now, Sun Wukong’s reaction grew intense once I mastered Shrink. I retrieved the Basics of Seon Magic Even a Monkey Can Learn that had been sleeping in the Pocket of Desire for so long and began the Seon Magic training I had postponed amid my busy schedule.
“I was waiting for you to seek this body out.”
“If you’re going to chatter that much, let’s stop here.”
“Impatient as ever. Still, you made good use of the Seon Magic I taught you, didn’t you?”
Thunder God Body. And Thunder Net. The basic Seon Magic that increased reaction speed, and the offensive Seon Magic that struck while sealing movement. Though difficult to learn, Seon Magic could be deployed even amid fierce movement and possessed tremendous power.
“What Seon Magic will you teach me next?”
“Earth Escape.”
“Earth-manipulating Seon Magic doesn’t seem to suit me.”
“After observing you, I determined Earth Escape is the attribute you need most.”
“I’d like to hear your reasoning.”
“Water Escape, which borders on healing, would be unnecessary given your abnormal recovery ability.”
“Hmm.” I let out a short hum, silently agreeing.
“Fire Escape has many powerful techniques, but they overlap with your magic. Wind Escape doesn’t seem to be your preference.”
“You mean it’s lower priority? I do plan to learn Wind Escape eventually.”
“Kuh, you don’t deny it. That’s why I recommend Earth Escape, which will maintain your unshakable advantage.”
He had a point… Sun Wukong. Even while acting annoyed about helping with Seon Magic training, he had thoroughly analyzed my combat style.
“I’ll follow your advice.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone so insolent toward a constellation. Really now.”
“Who was it that caused an uproar in front of the Jade Emperor?”
“Kuh. From now on, I’ll transmit the Seon Magic, so keep your eyes wide open and focus.”
Sun Wukong changed the subject after having his dark history pointed out. The Seon Magic incantation appeared once more on the blank page.
Oh ho. This Seon Magic is…?