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“Adamantium?”
Elena tilted her head. It was clearly a name she was hearing for the first time.
“If you mean the Devil’s Metal, I know that. That is the Devil’s Metal.”
Elena, Keira, and I were watching a video of Shinyongsan Artisan Street together. Elena’s Korean had become quite fluent by now.
“A Gate that produces something like this… how dreadful.”
“Dreadful?”
Her reaction was completely different from Keira’s, who had called it the finest material humans could work with. Elena seemed to loathe the Devil’s Metal.
“That metal reacts to demonic power and amplifies it. The gods suffered terribly because of it during the War of Gods and Demons. That’s why they recovered every last piece of the Devil’s Metal.”
“So when the Ttanttani reacted to lust back there…”
“Yes. Because that is the Devil’s Metal. Lust is originally a demonic power.”
One mystery had been solved. I had instinctively felt that Ttanttani and lust together produced explosive force, but I had never understood why. Still, not every question was answered. There was still a great deal I needed to know.
“Elena, are there any side effects?”
“Side effects? It’s a power used by demons, so… hmm…”
I waited a long while, but Elena could not give me an answer.
“I’m sorry. My knowledge only goes this far. Personally, though, I hope you never use that power. If you need strength, use me. I will protect you, Jungmin.”
“You don’t need to apologize. A holy knight can’t be expected to know everything about demons. I have no intention of using that power either—I just need to understand it. And thank you for saying you’ll protect me. I trust you. Both Ru and Elena.”
“Leave it to me.”
Elena struck Ru’s prayer pose with the air of someone making a vow. No matter how many times I saw it, that stance still looked exactly like Instant Transmission from Dragon Ball.
“So there’s no Adamantium in Elena’s world?”
Keira, who had been quiet for a while, finally spoke up.
“That’s right, Keira. It’s said the gods recovered every piece of the Devil’s Metal. Unless you’re a demon, there’s no reason to use such a thing.”
“Have you ever heard of Orichalcum?”
“Orichalcum?”
Elena tilted her head again, looking completely lost.
“From what I can tell, Elena’s sword is made of Orichalcum. In our world we also call it the God’s Metal.”
“Ah—we call it the God’s Metal as well. So it has the name Orichalcum too. I didn’t know.”
I had just watched the gap in knowledge between worlds with my own eyes. In our world we called it Ttanttani, so it wasn’t strange. Still, it was unexpected.
Keira and I had once discussed the purpose of Gates and Keepers. Our provisional conclusion, as two people talking to otherworlders for the first time, had been this: forced interdimensional exchange. Stagnant water rots; perhaps worlds that sit still eventually collapse. So the System created Gates and Keepers. We had zero evidence, yet even Keira—with her scientific mind—had been quite satisfied with the idea. It had felt like we were cutting to the essence of the thing.
And yet, even in a world that had Gates and Keepers, knowledge this important could differ so drastically. Elena had never heard the names Adamantium or Orichalcum, and Keira had not known that the Devil’s Metal reacted to forces like lust.
“What happens when you pour divinity into Orichalcum? What kind of effect does it produce?”
“…Is that how it works? You’re thinking the Devil’s Metal and the God’s Metal are similar, aren’t you, Keira?”
“Yes. Exactly, Elena. We’ve talked about this before—power is just power. Metal is just metal. In the end, what matters is the one who uses that power and that metal, right? That’s why I accepted the role of leader, and why I looked the other way when Jungmin started using lust.”
There had nearly been trouble when our leader underwent her Succubus transformation. For Elena, leaving a Succubus alone was almost impossible by nature. Even so, she had understood. Serving a goddess of mercy and love had probably played a part.
“…You’re right. We did. I understand what you mean, Keira. Just a moment.”
Elena took the prayer pose again. Eyes closed, her expression was so earnest it bordered on sacred. When she opened her eyes a short while later, the earlier tremor was gone from her gaze.
“The God’s Metal… no, I’ll call it Orichalcum as well. When you pour divinity into Orichalcum, its power is doubled. Even a small amount of force can produce great strength.”
“So the basic effect is similar. Has Ru ever mentioned any side effects or precautions?”
“Side effects specifically… Divinity is power that Ru herself apportions, so there can’t really be side effects. She only bestows as much power as can be used.”
In other words, my training was still too lacking to wield an Adamantium weapon. Of course it was. My estimated Lust stat was still only 1, and my mana was still only 4.
“Maybe Ru is controlling it for you directly?”
“Ru watches over all her flock, so that is entirely possible.”
Hmm… a power that even a god has to keep in check. The fact that I had nearly died suddenly didn’t seem so strange. Maybe the only reason I survived was the ring. I would have to thank Soyeon properly. And compensate her, of course.
“Elena, could you lend me your sword? I think it would be good to test it at least once.”
“It could be dangerous. If what you say is true, the power might run wild and kill you.”
I had expected Elena to be reluctant about lending the sword itself, but that did not seem to be the issue.
“If that happens, you can just let go… What do you think, Jungmin?”
“Me? I’d like to try it once. I may not be able to moderate the power, but I was able to stop using it entirely even back then, Elena.”
I had simply used it while prepared to die. Without that power I would have been killed by the Orc Chief anyway. It had been a gamble. A successful one, which was why I was still alive. That was exactly why I needed the experiment now—so that next time I faced a situation like that, I wouldn’t have to gamble.
“All right. Here.”
Elena held out her sword, Trau Palga. In the language of Keruon, Trau Palga meant “thirteen.”
Shiiing.
The blade slid free of its scabbard with a clear, ringing note. It was a beautiful sword—so beautiful it was hard to believe it was meant for real combat. Elaborate patterns were engraved along the blade, and carvings adorned the guard. Even so, I had watched Elena cut through enemies like a one-woman army with this very weapon. This was no mere ornamental blade.
Whoosh.
I gave it a light swing and immediately understood. First of all it was incredibly light, and it felt extraordinarily comfortable to use. I was holding it for the first time today, yet it settled into my hand as if it had been my lifelong partner. Maybe it was because I had learned swordsmanship from Elena.
“Hoo…”
I gripped the sword with both hands and stirred up my lust. Along with the erection, a warm energy began to well up around me in soft, billowing waves. Slowly, carefully, I pushed that lust into the blade.
Wuum.
The sword gave no particular reaction. The sensation was no different from pouring lust into an ordinary blade. I thought back to the events of the day before and tried to imagine the edge growing sharper. Still the sword showed no change.
“…Looks like it won’t work.”
In the end I returned the sword to Elena.
“Orichalcum and Adamantium really are different, then. Does that mean I need to get my hands on Adamantium?”
“…It is a dangerous power. Wouldn’t it be better if I simply grew stronger instead?”
Elena still looked worried.
“It’s all right, Elena. The things you’re afraid of won’t happen.”
“But…”
“And from now on, you’re coming with us. If you had been there this time, none of this would have happened.”
“Of course. Orcs like those aren’t even worth a single punch.”
Elena snorted and glared at the orcs on the screen. Being able to call an A-class monster “not even worth a single punch” was genuinely reassuring. Still, why did I have the feeling that the moment Elena started traveling with us, even stronger enemies would start showing up?
Nah. No way. That would mean I was the protagonist of this world, and there’s no chance a mere D-class Keeper like me is the protagonist.
Somewhere in Sageum-ri, Cheorwon-gun, Gyeonggi Province.
The television was playing footage of Lee Jungmin’s exploits, complete with the caption.
“Oh-ho… so there is Adamantium?”
The man seated on the sofa had skin so white it was almost corpse-pale. When he raised the glass in his hand, the woman standing beside him poured wine.
Glug.
She was dressed in a maid’s uniform. Like the man, her skin was deathly pale, set off by jet-black hair that fell all the way to her waist. And like him, her eyes were a vivid, bloody red.
“That glow… Incubus or Succubus, then.”
Only now did the man understand what kind of demon had summoned him into this world. Judging purely by what the video showed, it seemed a rather weak demon.
No wonder it’s playing at being a Keeper.
His own circumstances were not so different. A full month had passed since he crossed into this world, and he still had not managed to leave Cheorwon. Earth possessed technology that nearly approached the third dimension; he could not afford to act recklessly. Third-dimensional weapons of mass destruction were his natural antithesis. As a Necromancer, the field in which he excelled was large-scale combat. Yet no matter how many skeletons he raised, the reality was that even a single tank was difficult to handle. In a world like this, the proper approach was to seize the strong one by one and slowly build a power base—but even that was far from easy. There were no strong people in a rural backwater like this, and heading into the cities meant death if he made a single misstep.
“Do you know what that metal is?”
“It is called Ttanttani.”
The maid answered in a completely flat voice. Anyone listening might have mistaken it for a machine. There was so little life in it that it felt even worse than a Vocaloid.
“How much does it cost?”
“As far as I know, it is beyond the means of this household’s wealth.”
The man had turned the entire family of the house he currently occupied into his thralls. He had injected very little “life” into the daughter, which was why she was so lifeless; the parents who went out to work, however, were so thoroughly conditioned that no outsider would ever suspect they were his thralls.
“Is that so? Truly useless.”
“…”
Still, the fact that Adamantium exists is good news. With that alone, I wouldn’t need power bases or technology. All I need is one kilogram from somewhere.
That it would not be easy to obtain was self-evident. The man decided he had no choice but to fall back on the insurance he had prepared from the beginning. If that insurance functioned properly, third-dimensional technology or anything else would become irrelevant.
“Bring me my meal. It’s time to eat.”
“Yes, Master.”
The maid did not go to the kitchen. She went into the master bedroom and returned pushing a wheelchair. Seated in it was a haggard man in his twenties—the youngest son of the house, still alive for now.
“P-please… spare me…”
“Don’t worry. As long as you do exactly as I say, you’ll live.”
When the man held out his hand, the maid passed him a kitchen knife. He took it and slowly approached the youngest son.
“Please, please spare me…”
“Good. Very good. Don’t worry. I’ll let you live. I always have until now, haven’t I? Let’s see… today…”
Thud.
He drove the kitchen knife into the youngest son’s stomach.
“KRAAAAGH! AAGH! AAAAGH!”
Bound to the wheelchair, the youngest son could not even thrash; he could only scream with his throat.
“Good. So sweet. Keep it up. That’s how you stay alive.”
“AAAAGH! Help me! Somebody help me!”
Listening to the youngest son’s screams, the man wore a look of deep satisfaction. The screams of “life”—that was the energy he collected. It was also the energy he needed simply to exist in this world.
The screaming youngest son had already lost every finger and toe, and his body was covered in knife wounds.
Hmm… maybe it’s time to change out the livestock?
Leaving the youngest son still screaming, the man turned his attention back to the television.