Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Infrastructure
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Sejong City looked peaceful when viewed from the sky.
And I could see the place I had made my base.
I descended rapidly toward it.
The wings created by mana dispersed, and I landed lightly on the rooftop.
Seolhwa, who happened to be on the rooftop, seemed startled to see me flying in from the sky but soon bowed politely.
"You've arrived, my lord."
"Yes. No issues?"
Although I'd spent some time in the original world, the time I'd been away from here was probably only about half a day.
Nothing major would have happened in that interval.
But since it felt like ages to me, I just asked anyway.
"Yes. No abnormalities."
The sun was setting. It was about time for dinner.
I took steaks out of my inventory for the kids gathered around the table.
I'd asked the beauty chef Seo Eun-ji from Jeju Island to prepare them and store them in there for me.
"Wow! That color... it's a high-end steak!!"
Han Su-ji excitedly gripped her fork and aimed it at the steak.
Well, they'd mostly been eating delivery food until now, so it made sense for her to react so eagerly to something this premium for the first time.
But at that moment, Seolhwa blocked Han Su-ji's hand as it reached for the steak.
-Slap!
"W-What?!"
"How many times have I told you not to eat before the senior picks up their spoon?"
"What? You old fogey?!"
"I'm not an old fogey. I'm teaching you basic etiquette."
I seemed to recall my parents teaching me manners like that back in the day. But since I'd tossed etiquette out the window myself, I had nothing to say about it.
And honestly, I didn't care who ate first or last.
But I didn't voice that here.
"E-Eat up."
I quickly declared the meal open before Seolhwa and Han Su-ji could grab each other's hair.
"D-Delicious!"
Watching the kids happily slicing and eating their steaks was a pleasant sight. I made a mental note to ask Chef Seo Eun-ji for more variety next time I returned to Jeju Island.
Everyone enjoyed a satisfying meal followed by tea time.
"You want to hunt monsters?"
"Yes."
Chae-won suggested trying to hunt Corrupted Beings.
She had awakened.
And it was only natural for someone with power to itch to use it.
Of course, it would be dangerous for her, freshly awakened, to hunt Corrupted Beings alone.
"It should be fine if you go with Seolhwa."
Seolhwa's abilities were probably the highest I'd seen in this world, on par with the old Cheonbu Sect Leader.
And since she'd been steadily deepening her bond with me, she might even surpass the sect leader grandpa by now.
I hadn't seen many Awakeners in this world, but given the timeline since they started appearing, Seolhwa had to be in the top ranks.
With her joining the kids for monster hunts—even mid-level Corrupted Beings would be manageable without worry.
"How's the Cheonbu Sect these days?"
I asked Seolhwa about the Cheonbu Sect's status after I'd given them the generator.
"They're busy gathering Mana Stones lately. Even Grandfather is out hunting monsters."
Mana Stones were lumps of energy.
Clean energy with no environmental pollution.
Ironically, in both this world and the original, monsters were humanity's greatest threat yet also a precious energy source.
As I'd expected, after buying the generator from me, the Cheonbu Sect had ramped up their hunting even more fervently.
Even the weighty old sect leader was personally joining the hunts.
They'd realized its true value beyond just a means to cultivate martial arts, so it was only natural.
The power of electricity was that immense.
'They're doing well.'
A good idea crossed my mind as I felt pleased hearing they'd been hunting diligently.
"I'd like you to arrange a meeting with the Cheonbu Sect Leader."
"You mean Grandfather?"
Seolhwa looked puzzled at my words.
It was probably the first time I'd asked to meet him first.
But she soon nodded and replied.
"Yes, understood."
Through Seolhwa, I arranged a meeting with the Cheonbu Sect Leader grandpa.
"For you to call first... something must be up."
"Got a new item."
"......A new item?"
-Thud.
I placed the prepared item on the table.
"......Isn't that a smartphone...?"
The sect leader grandpa had a look that said why on earth was I bringing out something like this.
"Interested?"
"Interested or not... it's useless if we can't operate it..."
Grandpa looked troubled.
"What if it could be used?"
"I-Is that even possible?"
I planned to use the Cheonbu Sect to build a wireless communication network.
According to Suni, if we brought equipment from the original world, wired might be tough, but setting up wireless wasn't that hard.
Even in Gates, communication gear powered by Mana Stones was commonly used.
The smartphone apps might not work, but calls should be fine.
Building the wireless network was a hassle I'd given up on, but the Cheonbu Sect was different.
Base stations and relays that used Mana Stones still needed regular maintenance.
Too annoying for me, so if I offloaded it to the Cheonbu Sect, they'd happily manage it.
"I'll provide the initial equipment for free. You'll handle the Mana Stones it needs. After that, if you want more base stations or relays, I'll supply them cheap."
To build the network quickly, I'd sell the gear at cost.
I didn't know if the Cheonbu Sect had experts in this field. But with manuals, they could probably handle it.
If they truly lacked talent, I could fetch decent training videos from the original world.
It'd be a pointless chore for me, but handing it to the Cheonbu Sect meant I could just use their built network hassle-free.
A communication network would bring me significant benefits too.
More precisely, Suni.
With an active network, Suni's capabilities—somewhat limited here—would improve.
Grandpa said he'd discuss it back at the sect, but who could resist the chance for long-distance communication in this world?
And in the meantime, I started hunting low-level Corrupted Beings in Sejong City again, bit by bit.
"The Cheonbu Sect is hunting monsters like madmen."
Survival camp leader Jang Seo-won frowned at his subordinate's report.
'This is a headache. No idea why they're suddenly doing this.'
He hadn't anticipated trouble arising from monster hunting.
In the end, to uncover the reason, Jang Seo-won demanded info from the spy he'd infiltrated into the Cheonbu Sect.
The man had been planted in exchange for his family's comfortable life in the camp.
The story from the spy couldn't be dismissed lightly.
"A generator powered by blue stones?!"
It sounded absurd, but it explained their frenzied hunting.
He instructed the spy to dig deeper into the generator.
And for fact-checking, Jang Seo-won summoned Cheon Su-ho.
A man in faded, modified hanbok entered the office.
Cheon Su-ho had been honing his martial arts and hunting monsters while staying at the survival camp.
With everything lost, it was all he had left to do.
"What is it?"
"Did you know about the generator?"
Cheon Su-ho looked baffled at Jang Seo-won's words.
"No idea what you're talking about."
"That the Cheonbu Sect has a generator using blue stones."
"......There was no such thing when I was there."
Cheon Su-ho seemed truthful.
Soon, Jang Seo-won got more details from the spy.
The generator had come from a man named Park Un-ho who lived in a school building.
"A generator using blue stone energy—it's revolutionary. We must secure it. Maybe they have some brilliant engineer?"
A plain-looking man in his 50s with rimless glasses spoke excitedly.
It was Jo In-gwang, a former Jiphyeon University bioengineering professor.
His words rang true.
'Does he have an engineer among the women with him?'
Even so, whipping up something like that wasn't straightforward.
And absurdly, the man was selling generators to the Cheonbu Sect in exchange for blue stones.
Meaning sustained production was possible.
'How the hell is that feasible?'
The more he thought, the more mysterious it became.
Either way, for the camp's future, securing that generator was non-negotiable.
"How about going the straightforward route?"
Professor Jo In-gwang suggested.
"Straightforward?"
"What we want is that generator. He's selling it for blue stones. We just trade with him."
Thinking about it, there was no grudge against the man.
Not even a passing acquaintance, so it was obvious.
In this messed-up world, "trade" felt foreign.
Still, Jang Seo-won thought Jo In-gwang's idea wasn't bad.