Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: A Simple Conclusion
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While every nation was focused on the aftermath of the Devist Nolan incident, Mad Castle was not.
“It’s not over yet.”
Wang-sik had no intention of letting it end like this.
He left the political matters to Kang Il-seop and Han Young-im and crossed over to the Azelan Continent.
Changing his appearance to Vega, he met with Oh Min-jae at the Mirje Trading Company.
“How did it go?”
“I think I have a lead.”
Oh Min-jae shared what he had investigated since the incident.
“It seems the Southern Alchemist Guild was behind this. I was monitoring the situation while ordering magical consumables, and their processing speed has suddenly slowed down. It’s as if something else urgent has come up.”
“So the secret organization has been exposed.”
“That’s right. They’ve figured out who the Shadow Alchemists are.”
Oh Min-jae had created his Alchemist Guild not to sell magical consumables, but to find out who had stolen Earth’s technology.
However, even he couldn’t easily uncover their identity.
This was because the group that released the formulas and collected royalties was the Thieves' Guild. Since the Thieves' Guild handled everything related to magical ingredients, the group providing the formulas from behind the scenes was thoroughly hidden.
It was top-level information that not even Wang-sik could access, but now, their identity had been revealed.
“Are they the ones who made the two-way gate, too?”
“No. I don’t know about that. I’ve been investigating ever since I created my Alchemist Guild, but I never got the sense they were researching gates.”
“So there’s another party involved?”
“This incident made it clear. When the Magic Tower attacked New Zealand, Devist Nolan cooperated. It seems they’ve been working with the Alchemist Guild for a long time. It’s hard to believe the Magic Tower and the Alchemist Guild formed an alliance, so it’s more logical to assume there’s another organization involved.”
Wang-sik agreed with Oh Min-jae’s logic.
“So, to summarize, there’s a group with the technology to create a two-way gate, and these guys are connected to both the Magic Tower and the Southern Alchemist Guild?”
“They’re probably connected to the higher-ups.”
Wang-sik quickly organized the information he had gathered so far.
“We need to crush the Southern Alchemist Guild. The Guild Leader must know who he’s connected to.”
“Exactly. We’re running out of time, so we should hurry.”
“What do you mean, we’re running out of time?”
“I examined the documents we found in their research lab, and I’ve come to a dangerous conclusion. It looks like they were researching Earth’s weapons.”
“What?”
This was truly a horrifying development.
“They were researching weapons that use mana instead of gunpowder. Grenades became mana bombs, and guns became mana guns. If we hadn’t found out sooner, these weapons would have spread across the Azelan Continent.”
“We have to eliminate them completely.”
“If we can just identify the ones who made the gate, we’ll be able to buy ourselves a lot of time.”
That meant Earth would be that much safer.
“We have to do it, no matter what. There’s no turning back anyway.”
Regardless of who the opponent was, Wang-sik had no intention of stopping. But Oh Min-jae had a slightly different idea.
“Isn’t it a waste to just get rid of them?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Our Alchemist Guild is lacking in many areas. We’re not getting many research results. Our technological capabilities aren’t that high to begin with. The Southern Alchemist Guild is the most advanced in terms of technology, so I’d like to absorb them if possible.”
“You want to devour them, is that it?”
“That’s right.”
Hearing this, Wang-sik also thought they were too valuable a card to simply discard.
“Well, that’s simple. We’ll take over the guild and kill those who deserve to die.”
“Right. That should work.”
“Let’s do it.”
They reached a very simple conclusion.
***
Demian, the Guild Leader of the Southern Alchemist Guild, was seething with irritation.
His neatly tied-back white hair had been disheveled for some time, but today, he didn’t even have the composure to fix it. Perhaps because of this, his face, wrinkled with over seventy years of age, looked exceptionally weary.
In front of him lay complex formulas and blueprints, all of them missing something.
For the past week, the survivors had painstakingly restored the data and combined it with the existing materials, but the result was still unsatisfactory.
“Damn it all!”
The research was nearly complete.
If they could just create this, they could shake the very foundations of the empire.
Three types of mana guns and mana bullets.
The research into firepower to replace gunpowder had been completed long ago. What remained was finding an alloy method that could withstand an explosive force surpassing that of gunpowder. Ordinary alloys couldn’t handle it, but they had recently found a solution.
The solution was the mana stone coating being researched on Earth.
If they could succeed with this, they would possess weapons that surpassed those of Earth.
At first, it would be mainly mana guns and mana bullets, but with further research, something like a missile would also be entirely possible.
“We could have brought those damn mages to their knees…”
He had been dreaming a brilliant dream, but then the research facility was attacked.
All the essential researchers were captured, and the data couldn’t be recovered. Worst of all, the gate was now closed, making it impossible to resume the research.
His chest tightened as he thought of the research materials that could only be obtained from Earth.
“To collapse like this…”
Feeling a sense of emptiness, he closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling when a knock came at the door.
“Guild Leader.”
The person who entered was the Vice Guild Leader.
A man in his late fifties with a slight build, he too looked exhausted, as if he could collapse at any moment.
He dared not even look the Guild Leader in the eye, and for good reason.
The Vice Guild Leader had been the one in charge of this research. He was the one who had escaped through the gate at the last moment.
“It seems impossible to continue the research. We can’t find any substitutes.”
For the past week, they had tried to establish a foundation to resume the research, but they had failed.
“However, we do have the research results from our work so far…”
The Vice Guild Leader trailed off as he saw Demian’s expression, then fell silent. But there was something he had to say.
“We must stop the restoration work. We’re too far behind on our other tasks.”
Demian had assigned all available personnel to the reconstruction of the magical weapons. As a result, the guild’s regular business was significantly delayed.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll just have to create another opportunity.”
Despite the great hardship, Demian had no intention of giving up.
Completing it was impossible for now, but they had accumulated the know-how. If they could establish a foothold on Earth again, they could finish it quickly.
“Stop the research for now and focus on normalizing the guild’s operations.”
At those words, the Vice Guild Leader’s expression relaxed slightly.
It was then.
“Guild Leader!”
A guild member rushed in with an urgent cry.
He acted as Demian’s secretary and was a key figure in the guild’s operations.
Demian had been about to call for him, but he had come running on his own.
“What is it?”
“The combination formulas for the magical ingredients have been released!”
At first, he didn’t understand.
“Didn’t we already release those?”
“N-No, the Mirje Trading Company released them!”
“What?”
“They released formulas for the same items we were supplying, but theirs are supposedly superior in quality and have a lower production cost.”
The magical ingredients sold by the Mirje Trading Company had always been a thorn in their side.
Their performance was inferior, but their prices were so low that they affected their profits. But now, Mirje had released formulas that were superior in both quality and cost.
“All the ingredients we supply?”
“Yes. It’s as if they’re targeting us, releasing formulas for only the same items.”
“Those crazy bastards!”
*Slam!*
Demian finally slammed his hand on the desk and stood up. But the report wasn’t over yet.
“The problem is, they’ve cut the formula usage fees in half…”
“What did you say?”
It meant they had halved the royalties. What’s more, the Mirje Trading Company had decided to collect the money directly, without going through the Thieves' Guild.
Demian understood what this meant.
“Are you saying we can’t expect any income from now on?”
“It seems that way…”
Demian, who had stood up in a fit of rage, collapsed back into his chair.
The royalties from magical ingredients were the guild’s biggest source of income for its operations.
Their future was already uncertain with the research on Earth halted, and now, even their current stability was being shaken.
“H-How many formulas do we have left?”
“About three. Of those, only one can be released immediately. The rest are still under research…”
All the money they had earned so far had been invested in weapon development. This meant they had lost the strength to get back on their feet.
“When it rains, it pours…”
Demian couldn’t think of what to do.
Wang-sik arrived in Neresa, the largest city in the south.
He was familiar with the geography, as this was where he had brought down Drepia.
Walking through the city in the guise of Vega, he passed over Neresa’s walls and went outside. When a forest appeared shortly after, he confirmed no one was around and changed his appearance.
Reverting to his own face, Wang-sik entered an abandoned hunter’s shelter.
As he entered, a man bowed a full ninety degrees in greeting.
“Greetings, Master!”
The man showing both respect and fear toward Wang-sik was Dusk.
He was the most powerful underworld boss in Neresa and the ruler of the back alleys of the eastern coastal city of Allat. Such a man quickly wiped the spot where Wang-sik would sit with a handkerchief and stood ramrod straight beside it.
“Sit.”
“I’m fine, sir.”
He was trying to be polite, but when Wang-sik’s gaze intensified, he quickly sat in the opposite seat.
“I believe I told you that you shouldn’t be seeing me again.”
“What? But you were the one who asked to meet, Master…”
Dusk, who was about to reply with a sense of injustice, shut his mouth.
“You haven’t even taken over half of Neresa yet? Even after I handed you Drepia’s legacy on a silver platter?”
“I-I apologize.”
Dusk had tried his best to secure it all, but he couldn’t help losing parts of it to the powerful.
Unable to oppose them, he had used it as an opportunity to maintain relationships.
Since then, he had maintained ties with the powerful, expanded his business, and was proud of the considerable success he had achieved.
“I will work harder.”
Regardless of his own thoughts, if Wang-sik deemed it insufficient, then it was insufficient.
“I even handed you Allat, and this is all you’ve managed. Did I overestimate you?”
“N-No, sir. My income has increased significantly. I’m definitely seeing results. I am truly grateful for that.”
In fact, when he took over Allat for free, it had felt like receiving a huge gift.
He had even felt that Wang-sik trusted him… but in reality, things weren’t much different than before.
“I’ve done a lot for you. Do you think you’ve repaid me in kind?”
“I am severely lacking. I will try harder.”
This was his sincere feeling.
Compared to what he had received, he had done almost nothing for Wang-sik. He gathered and sent information, but he didn’t even know how it was being used.
“I’m starting to doubt whether you’re useful at all.”
Hearing those words, Dusk got out of his seat and knelt.
“P-Please give me a chance!”
Wang-sik deliberately paused before speaking calmly.
“Take over the Southern Alchemist Guild.”
“What?”
“That is your task.”
Dusk stared blankly at Wang-sik, but upon seeing his ice-cold expression, he quickly lowered his head.