READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 347: Bunker
I’ve saved about a hundred times more money than using [Justitia].
From now on, all I needed was an honest conversation.
“Alright, this continues from what I brought up earlier. To be clear, I know all about the work you had Enzo do before coming here.”
“……!”
“So, I’d like to hear in detail why you sent beasts like Enzo to South Korea.”
I asked a shareholder from Pixis.
By the way, in my right hand was my trusty equipment, [Scream Stake].
It meant that the original culprit, who made the opponent unable to contain himself and shout the contract conditions, was still very much alive.
The [Teleportation] item didn’t work, and the bodyguards were all knocked out.
What option did that person have left?
“Ugh.”
Andy Oliver responded more quickly than expected.
“Um?”
Thud.
More precisely, about 14 seconds later, he pulled out something from his pocket.
A cylindrical scroll completely black on the outside.
‘What on earth is this?’
The item had been stored in an item box and seemed surprisingly intact despite the flooding.
But once I received the scroll directly from Andy Oliver, I understood.
Even if it had been swept away by the earlier tsunami, this thing would probably still be fine.
‘The surface is smooth and soft.’
If I were to compare it, it felt like silicone.
However, this dull object, primarily used in ancient times, seemed to contain some enormous information.
“Th-that’s why I acted.”
“If by ‘acted,’ you mean the invasion of Seoul?”
“Y-yes.”
He explained further.
Most of the text on this scroll artifact was in Hindi, so just running it through a translation app would give some understanding of its meaning.
[41.40338-2.17403]
[78.45222-57.68550]
The only hindrance was the numbers attached to the Hindi sentences.
Apparently, when Andy Oliver happened to acquire this particular scroll, he couldn’t interpret those meaningless numbers at all.
But let’s set this clear: the greatest advantage of the species that dominate Earth is their intelligence.
The problem was that they woke up to magic far too late.
On the other hand, the mammals here had developed scientific advancements pretty well because of it.
‘Science isn’t a bad technology. Especially the internet is a marvelous civilization!’
When I urged for an explanation, he finally understood the numerical part of the scroll entirely using the various technologies humanity had built up.
“The front part is the coordinates. The back part denotes time.”
“Coordinates?”
“It’s completely different from the directional notations we usually use…”
“That would make sense.”
“Over a few months, we compared the monsters or items that appeared at the locations of the gates with what the artifact indicated and quickly revealed a pattern.”
“Hmm.”
“By the way, the information on the first line says ‘On January 1, XX year, a winged reptile appears at Iguazu Falls,’ which means it forecasts the emergence of a dragon’s nest.”
So, this scroll really is something incredible!
In summary, the artifact that Andy Oliver possessed conveyed three kinds of information.
First. The location where the gate would appear.
Second. A description of the monsters or items that would appear there.
Third. The exact time at which the dungeon would be generated.
So, this artifact could ultimately be interpreted like this:
“You already knew that the company I work for originally developed games, right?”
The man, who lost his glasses in the flood, struggled to open his dim eyes and continued.
“So, for me, this expression is quite familiar. I regarded that scroll as a sort of update schedule…I was aware of it.”
“What?”
“Or maybe a leaked patch note.”
Oh my goodness.
An update schedule!
I at least understood what that meant.
However, being a long-lived mage, I had a less sophisticated and more straightforward expression on my mind.
‘In simpler terms, it’s a prophecy!’
Even if it’s just limited to forecasts of gate appearances.
Anyway, this is an object that can reveal what’s going to happen tomorrow and the day after!
So, I couldn’t help but be amazed.
“I’m seizing this.”
“What?”
“I’m seizing it. And judging by your conversation, the scroll’s contents must have been fully interpreted, so prepare to hand that over when I’m being nice.”
“Th-that’s not…I mean…”
“I wonder if that strange metal lump you’re holding is a data storage device?”
“Huh! No, it’s not.”
Such an item hadn’t been discovered in Alphauri.
It seemed to be a new method of the ki-simche.
Thus, I had a great interest in the scroll that the man in front of me had revealed and decided to acquire it.
‘Having this info allows me to predict where incidents might occur.’
But then I thought again, the name “update schedule” wasn’t so bad.
“Ugh, ugh.”
Given the nature of electronic media, there was probably a copy of the information in that scroll with high probability.
Maybe that’s why, despite his reluctance, Andy Oliver easily handed over the information.
Unexpectedly, a primitive tool appeared again.
“Paper?”
“It’s a special paper made from dungeon materials.”
This was the content of the scroll, which had barely been read after going through various processes.
【Scheduled Gate Appearance】
[…Month …Day, Dragon’s nest containing poison appears in Japan (Completed)]
[…Month …Day, Boss containing an item that stops aging appears in South Korea (Completed)]
[…Month …Day, Perfect elixir in the Northern Mariana Islands]
I skimmed through a few lines that caught my eye.
But then a question arose.
“Wait, um… From what I know, you were allied with Spectrum. How could the wealthy elites of the world band together over something like this?”
If I had received good information, logically, I should have tried to monopolize it all by myself.
“And for reference, I already knew the gate that appeared in Seoul was related to the potion that prevents aging. If you dilly-dally trying to hide such a thing, I might actually take action. Not with the Scream Stake, but with S-Class strength.”
“……!”
Seeing me with wide eyes, Andy started to sweat bullets.
It seemed he was shocked that all his subordinates had been swept away in a flood.
“I knew your skills as an appraiser were exceptional, but I never imagined you were a talented psychic who could figure out the identity of [Soldeus]…”
By the way, contextually, “Soldeus” should refer to the flower that appeared in the Korean dungeon.
Compared to the rough sunflower this party had named it, the actual confirmed name sounds quite elegant.
But right now, that’s not the problem.
“As you pointed out, I naturally was aware of the fact about the emergence of the potion that prevents aging because of that scroll.”
“Right.”
“The scroll has about four forecasts for the appearance of [Soldeus]…”
“……!”
“Moreover, it also outlined ‘how to ensure’ that the dungeon boss blooms safely, along with separate tips.”
At this point, the man crossed his arms.
“Do you think you can understand all this?”
By the time such words came out from the translator, his gaze moved slightly.
“The system of the gate is surprisingly honest, and so far, it has not deliberately deceived humanity.”
“Go on.”
“…So, I fully trusted the artifact that said to obtain the potion that prevents aging, I would need to break the dungeon and change the boss’s item table…”
“Right.”
“From the start, I organized a group to obtain all four of those potions. Information that would be difficult to buy even with this kind of money could allow me to temporarily put a country’s leader under my thumb. That’s the answer.”
At last, the truth came out.
Even just hearing that much, I organized the outline of everything in my mind.
‘Getting to know about the forecast of the potion that prevents aging was good, but if something surfaced in a heavily populated area like Seoul, it’s clear they wouldn’t let me pull any brake. ’
So, this beast incident was related to such circumstances.
‘Even if a valuable item is at stake, if mass casualties were expected, a normal country wouldn’t cooperate… But openly stating that the potion prevents aging would only increase the number of new competitors. I can understand.’
Alright, I’ve got it all figured out.
I fully understood how scummy a person like Andy Oliver was.
“Uuugh!”
Immediately afterward, a sob was heard in the humid bunker.
“Thanks for explaining things more cooperating than I expected. You have pretty good intuition and intelligence. But there’s something I really have to address.”
“W-wait-!”
“Your dumb moves caused quite a bit of trouble for the hunters in Seoul.”
I prodded him with the [Scream Stake] and continued talking.
Oh, and just for reference, as I mentioned earlier, he was caught by telekinesis.
I continued the conversation with a hazy expression that the foreign-looking man had due to my ptosis.
Andy Oliver was now in a position where he couldn’t do anything and had to silently endure all the reprimands that would follow.
“What about the top tiers like Jeong Ha-seong or Seo Esther? What if all those citizens got hurt? Hmm?”
“U-uuuuuh! J-just, just wait a moment….”
Immortality.
At one point, I pursued such things as well.
Even accomplishing that with long research…
Given my state, one who forgot the fear of aging shouldn’t easily dismiss their desires.
To be honest, I was in no position to casually interfere with their plans.
“Oh, really.”
But throwing my fist at someone was okay.
“You can go ahead and die, you scumbag.”
I had achieved my goals purely through research, but this person was a criminal who almost killed numerous Homo sapiens for his own desires.
So, with unforgiving feelings, I proceeded to break his collarbone.
It was an annoying protruding bone of a mammal that always bothered me.
Can an individual’s youth be worth the lives of many?
Of course, the only answer to that question is “No.”
At least that’s what this great mage thought.
Therefore, without hesitation, I punished the mammal.
Crack!
But just breaking a life due to dislike seems a bit extreme, and I was in a phase of laying off the “human-culling” plan.
‘Suddenly I miss my notebook.’
Why did foreign creatures directly infiltrate this deep bunker?
Killing that guy, Oliver or whatever his name is, could have easily been done from a distance.
So it was clear he had other objectives for coming to this place to attempt a conversation.
Therefore, it was time to stop wasting time according to that initial plan.
‘As he just revealed, there seems to be a significant number of forces afraid of aging in this world, and they all happen to communicate online.’
I need to get a definite confirmation from him with the genuine cursed item called [Knight’s Pact].
“Listen closely from now on.”
I suggested to the shareholder of Pixis.
“What do you mean?”
That he shouldn’t try to misuse the information from this scroll for malicious deeds.
Moreover, that he must ensure this condition is followed by all others implicated in the beast incident.
“Fairy’s Promise was just a taste. The true important contracts are written on this parchment I’m presenting now. Just in case, I’ve even written it below in English for your confirmation.”
The proposal written on the second line of the contract artifact meant that Andy Oliver had to individually control the heads of the organizations he knew.
If those who received scroll information tried to commit crimes like in Seoul, he would have to expend all his resources and manpower to stop them.
He was to carefully observe every gate pointed by the prophecy.
And if possible, to directly visit those colleagues like I did and have some rough persuasion.
“That’s [Knight’s Pact], isn’t it? So, if I fail to execute the orders, that means I die?”
Then came comments with ethics set aside.
“Make sure your friends also sign this peace treaty written in [Knight’s Pact]. Then, there will be no need for penalties to activate.”
Now that the times have changed.
Is there really a need to stubbornly insist on manual hunting?