Storm Warrior - Chapter 337



Only Noblemtl

#337, Invitation

Three days after confirming Gayoung’s position, I received a call from him saying that he was ready.

-Where are you now?

“Office.”

-Is that the place I went to the day before yesterday?

“huh.”

-Come over.

The guy just hung up the phone.

‘… … ?’

At the moment when I was trying to think about where I should come from.

The pile of papers on the desk fluttered and a ripple in the sky occurred.

‘… So you meant to say you would open the door.’

Joo Ja-heon, who was with us today, was looking out the window with his eyes closed, and showed no reaction even to the sudden tidal wave.

Now, we are pretty much used to ‘human-made’ portals.

Of course, Joo Ja-heon probably thought that I opened the portal myself because I was thinking of going somewhere.

Because from Ju Ja-heon’s perspective, he cannot distinguish between what I opened and what someone else opened on the other side.

But when I picked up the box from the floor, the guy turned around and shook his head.

“Really… are you thinking of sending it?”

What Joo Ja-heon was pointing to with his chin was the heavy box of printed materials I was holding in my hand.

A bundle of custom-made invitations.

“I should send it then. That’s why I put so much effort into making it.”

Of course, I only gave the sketch-level order, but it was Im Tae-seong who decided on the detailed design and proceeded with production.

Anyway, I knew the reason why Joo Ja-heon asked that awkward question.

There is a risk that the intention of the invitation may be misinterpreted.

This specially made invitation I’m holding is made by waterproofing the inside of the card and paper envelope and then injecting a syringeful of seahorse powder.

Simply put, it was a structure that made it inevitable that you would get seahorse powder on your hands when you took out the invitation.

Of course, even though it was Kai Auction’s portal delivery system, they couldn’t have sent out the invitation first.

Because the user’s location is constantly changing.

In other words, it had to be sent in the form of a message inserted at the moment the successful bidder for the item input the receiving coordinates. To those who opened it in a safe place, it might seem like just a mischievous prank, but if it was the moment when they were collecting survival items in the hunting grounds, it could have been a fatal crisis.

Joo Ja-heon thought that such a situation might create another grudge.

“What’s more important than the original content is the impression you feel with your body. In order to turn your attention to something you’ve never been interested in, there has to be some kind of impact. Even if it’s a bit provocative, if you can gather even one more like that, it’s good.”

“… … .”

Partsch!

Gayoung’s portal shook irritably as if asking how much longer she planned to make him wait.

Sigh.

I knew all too well how tiring it was to keep a portal open for a long time.

I gave Ju Ja-heon a look telling him to put his worries aside and quickly crossed over through the portal.

As expected, Gayoung greeted me with a very frowning expression.

“You were wasting time on purpose?”

“My brother wouldn’t do such childish things.”

“… … What’s that box?”

“invitation.”

I answered briefly and looked around repeatedly.

“Oh, you brought it yourself. … Follow me.”

Gayoung waved her hand and turned around, but she felt a sense of pride on the guy’s shoulder.

Well, I guess it’s because I seem to be busy looking around here.

“This is Kai Auction. This is not the headquarters building known to the world, but the ‘real’ base where the essence of the portal delivery system is hidden. What do you think?”

Even before Gayoung’s explanation, I already knew about this place.

Because it was a place that old Echion had visited many times in his memories.

But even so, the scene I felt directly with my own skin was sufficiently admirable.

Even if we leave aside the ancient letters engraved all over the metal walls inside the building and the dozens of coordinate fixing devices lined up under the railing, the enormous flow of magical power that constantly operated this huge facility was truly overwhelming to humans.

“It looks like a replica of Rare.”

Gayoung opened her eyes wide at my impression.

“… Have you ever seen a rare one?”

Lair literally means a hiding place like a beast’s den, but in this case it was referring precisely to a ‘dragon’s nest’.

“Only in someone’s memory.”

Memories of the time when Echion was still a dragon, that is, including Gayoung’s own lair, as well as Lucas Balaur and the Charybdis clan’s memories, were enough to clearly draw the structure of a dozen lairs.

Of course, the reason I felt it resembled Rare was not because of the structure, but because of the unique magic circle applied to the space itself.

That magic circle is the source of magical power that keeps the barrier from losing its power for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and allows the guardians created through magic to exert immense power.

In short, it is a magic circle of infinite power that confines the magical power used in space and reuses it, creating a cycle of reuse again.

In fact, even if we just consider the amount of magical power flowing at this very moment, it would be enough to power a large city for several days, and if we assume that that much magical power continues to be ‘consumed’, wouldn’t even Dragon Halpae be able to handle it?

“… That’s right. Without the wisdom of the great race, it would be impossible to run a device like this 24 hours a day.”

“Now that great race of a child that is not even a dragon… .”

“Greatness is great. The legacy of that wisdom still remains with me.”

As I was listening to the magic lizard’s intoxication, I suddenly wondered how I was going to deal with all that magical energy consumption before being transferred to my awakened future self.

Rather than really being curious about what he was thinking at the time, I was curious about when he first received the transfer.

This is because I was the one who connected JSO’s investment when Gayoung was preparing for the portal delivery business.

“If you had planned this from the beginning… Are you saying that when you received the investment from Representative Cha, you had already met the old Ekion?”

Gayoung clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“You still have so much distrust. Don’t you remember when I first explained the business plan? It wasn’t a plan to deliver personal items 24 hours a day like it is now. It was a business that only provided high-priced items from auctions that the company held according to schedule. I told you that I wasn’t lying when I said I was still Gayoung.”

“… Yeah. It’s just, how should I put it. For someone who became Ekion in the middle, he seemed to be very serious about this business. Wasn’t this Gayoung’s dream?”

The question was why the guy who had awakened the soul of a transcendent being and was looking to destroy that soul’s enemy was so obsessed with making money.

“When I was young, I found my dream in the things I could do, and when I found my memories, I just drew a big picture with the things I was doing. And, well, revenge costs money.”

“What was the intention behind setting it as a system function in Loco33?”

“There isn’t anything in particular. If there was one, was it a hint to appeal to you, hyung?”

“Just to make me interested in you?”

“I didn’t expect the player to appear. But I didn’t expect it to be used like this.”

Gayoung, who had arrived in front of a computing system during the conversation, handed over a bundle of papers she was holding in one hand.

When I received it, it was a list that included nicknames used in auctions, actual personal information, and transaction history.

After flipping through two or three pages, I could tell at a glance that it was a player.

【Item Name: 8-Strength Kang-Gong Water Sword】

The names of the auction items registered by individuals are names that can appear because they are entered directly.

A player’s language that includes all the meanings of a water attribute sword that has been strengthened eight times, has good attack power, and is useful.

Of course, even if you are not a player, if you are a hunter who has played games in the past, you can use these types of abbreviations.

So, while that one item might be a little suspicious, a quick look at the next few lines of transactions quickly uncovers clear evidence.

【Item Name: Alchemist’s Handmade Recovery Potion (100ea)】

Unless you’re desperate to throw away your money, non-player hunters never buy annuity pills online.

Or, for safety reasons, I did not buy or eat products made by individuals without permission.

How could you put a ‘handmade product’ from an unknown person into your stomach when it is something that is directly related to life?

Moreover, it was an item that was traded at a high price with the title of a master craftsman that was not even certified.

‘You can only trust and buy items whose grades are visible.’

He returned the bundle to the road and asked.

“How many guys are there who have done all this filtering?”

“… 3,658 people. I was disappointed because it was less than I thought. It was a fun game.”

“Perhaps not all players came over. A large-scale ice battle would have required a great deal of strength even for Marduk. There must have been some standard for selecting those with a high level of understanding.”

“Well, I expected that, but originally, as far as I know, the 330,414 people identified in the country were roughly 2,700.”

“Well… , there must be quite a few who have already died. Just the ones who died by my hand, no… Anyway. If there are 3,600 in the entire world, it certainly won’t filter them all out. After all, it would be difficult to find those who speak this language or don’t use the auction itself with the filtering method you used.”

“Then what? Should we try another way?”

The way I look at Gayoung hasn’t changed much, but I can definitely feel that she has become more active since our conversation the day before yesterday.

It seems that there was a change of heart from betting without much expectation to ‘wanting to believe a little’.

“No, that’s okay. What do you mean the player didn’t use the auction? You don’t know because you haven’t been in that position, but to the player, the auction system is like breathing.”

For some people, Kai Auction is a service that may make them wonder, “Why pay such a high fee for nothing?”

But for players, it is a part of the system that should be there.

Although there are times when I do direct transactions for items with high commissions, I do not skimp when it comes to obtaining survival necessities for farming.

“Not doing that means you have no intention of doing anything. You’re probably the type that just chooses to survive.”

“Then let’s just send it to these people.”

Gayoung continued, pointing to the list displayed on the computer screen.

“It will be delivered sequentially as the receiving coordinates are marked. … Since the average cycle between most transactions does not exceed 24 hours, most of it will be delivered between today and tomorrow. By the way. What about the date and location?”

“That’s good. I took the picture three days later. You’ll have to help me find the location.”

“What are you ordering me to do now… Can I open one of these?”

At the end of her sentence, Gayoung picked up an invitation from the box I had placed on one side.

I didn’t stop Gayoung because I didn’t think she would be affected by the hippocampus drug.

“Ugh! What is this?”

licking.

The boy opened the paper bag, sniffed the blue liquid on his hand, and even licked it to taste it.

“Ah, Charybdis Pigeon. That’s what we heard on the news yesterday and today.”

While Gayoung prepared my request, I had meetings with leaders of three countries over two days.

It was a position I responded to as Han Seong-jun, not as my father, because the export of seahorse from the United States was cut off and I had taken control of the supply route for Rak-Bishya.

Of course, it was my order to leak such information to their intelligence network, and the meeting was held at the earnest request of the United States, Russia, and South Korea.

Although the matter was to be dealt with in secret, I personally leaked the topic of the meeting to the press through Seo Yoon-seo.

The story of the seahorse attack was one that the general public had no interest in except for military nerds, but it was being widely reported because I was involved in it.

“It’s not unrelated.”

However, the emphasis in using the media was not on the ‘seahorse’ side, but on the ‘earnestness of each country’.

“Isn’t this too one-dimensional?”

“You have to give them something one-dimensional so they can imagine two- and three-dimensional things as they please.”

“Anyway. Where is this place? What are the coordinates?”

“Somewhere in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province… I’ll have you take the portal again from there.”

“Where in the world is there a portal that can accommodate 3,600 people?”

“So I’m asking you to do that. If only there were more coordinate fixing devices… Ah, there are enough materials here.”

I spread my arms and pointed to the space where Gayoung’s pride was embedded.

“… … !”