Chapter 2062 – 2062. Savior Of The Academy
The first to wake up was the woman, the only one among them. Her face was a mess from crying. Her beauty was slightly above average.
With hazy eyes, the woman scanned her surroundings and immediately hardened her expression.
“…Who are you?”
She asked in clumsy Korean. It wasn’t because she realized I was Korean, but because this place was Korea.
“I’m the one asking the questions.”
I kindly spoke in Chinese. In that instant, the woman’s pupils trembled. It was a moment that lasted less than a second. I wouldn’t have noticed if I hadn’t been focusing on her eyes.
“What is your purpose for coming here?”
“……”
“Not going to answer?”
“……”
I grabbed the woman’s shoulder, which was bound by shadow chains.
*Crack* Electricity surged through the woman’s body. She gritted her teeth. The pain of being electrocuted must have been unbearable, but she had a decent amount of mental fortitude. Or perhaps she had been trained to endure torture.
‘It would be easier to just ask Elena to mess with her mind.’
But I was more eager to test the truth-telling ability.
‘I have plenty of time. I can just torture her until she talks.’
I was thinking about how to use the power of truth when a large amount of mana drained away, and a notification window popped up.
『The power of truth has revealed the target’s name.』
『The target’s name is Peng Liao.』
『Karma: Good (3) can be used to see Peng Liao’s true life.』
Use Karma: Good? And three of them?
The memory of struggling to raise Karma: Good flashed through my mind.
‘Using Karma: Good is unexpected, but considering the future, I need to know exactly what this ability is.’
It was better to try it out now.
‘But is Peng Liao her name?’
Finding out her name didn’t require Karma. Instead, it consumed a large amount of mana. Roughly 30% of my mana had disappeared. Mana could be replenished over time, but losing 30% at once was a burden. It would be fatal in a combat situation.
‘So, I need to know about the ability beforehand. I’ll use Karma.’
『Using Karma: Good (3).』
Peng Liao’s life flooded into my mind.
It wasn’t like I was directly experiencing Peng Liao’s life. It was more like watching her life on TV. I skimmed through 35 years of her life in less than a second. It wasn’t even close to a vicarious experience. It was more like I had just watched Peng Liao’s life without any real meaning.
“The woman who almost died at her father’s hands. The woman who stabbed her teacher in the back. The woman who put a bullet in her friend’s head.”
Peng Liao was horrified. She moved her legs while still restrained, as if trying to get away from me.
“W-what did you do? How… how do you know about me?!”
“Peng Liao. Answer my question. Has your Guileok Valley begun to target Korea in earnest?”
I asked even though I knew the truth. I needed confirmation.
“……”
There was no answer. I raised my hand. Blue sparks like a stun gun flickered between my fingers.
Peng Liao gritted her teeth and looked around a few times before finally opening her mouth.
“I don’t know what plans the Valley has for Korea. I just follow orders from above.”
『The target’s words are true.』
A large amount of mana drained away. 20% of my total. It was less than when I found out her name, but it was still a significant amount.
‘I can’t use it recklessly.’
I could use it recklessly right now. Elena and Yuria were by my side. With them by my side, I could push myself. Conversely, it would be difficult to push myself when they weren’t around.
“Tell a simple lie. For example, say that I’m a man?”
Peng Liao looked at me with a confused expression.
“…I am a man…?”
『The target’s words are false.』
Even though it was an obvious lie, 20% of my mana was drained. In an instant, 70% of my mana was gone, leaving only 30%. Losing more than half of my mana in such a short time was painful, even for me.
I endured the pain. I couldn’t afford to stumble around pathetically.
I had confirmed the power of the truth ability. Among them, the truth detection was an ability I could use when I had mana potions to spare. That alone was enough.
‘Using Karma: Good allows me to know the target’s entire life. This could also be a useful ability depending on the situation.’
When the time came, I would have to use it without hesitation.
After that, I continued to ask Peng Liao questions. I asked questions I already knew and received answers I already knew. I killed Peng Liao cleanly. There was nothing more to find out. The two men, on the other hand, were different. There was no reason to waste Karma: Good on such trivial matters.
I left it to Elena.
They were already mentally weakened by this dungeon, and within three minutes, they had spilled all the information they knew and then committed suicide.
“The existence of Guimo is a problem. If she really has precognitive abilities… she will continue to hinder you.”
“Although limited, she has successfully predicted the future. She may hinder Master even more in the future. I believe we should deal with her immediately.”
Elena and Yuria were wary of Guimo.
Guimo was one of the four great gatekeepers of Guileok Valley. In terms of power, she was close to the second-in-command of Guileok Valley. Her precognitive abilities were that outstanding and useful.
‘But Guimo’s abilities in the original story weren’t this great. And she’s supposed to be assassinated even if I don’t do anything?’
I didn’t know who the assassin was. It wasn’t mentioned in the original story. People speculated that it was one of the other four great gatekeepers.
‘The future might have changed because of me.’
I didn’t know what the cause was. I had caused so many incidents. If you think about it, the situation in Japan shouldn’t have escalated like this either.
After careful consideration, I asked Elena.
“Can you bring Guimo here with your abilities?”
“If she dies once, it’s possible.”
“Then die once.”
“Ha.”
Elena smiled wryly and looked at me. She didn’t refuse. It was as if she wanted something.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. Just as I was about to say that I would grant her request, Yuria interrupted.
“Master. There is no need to ask the materialistic Elena. I will kidnap Guimo.”
“It’s not good to use Limit Break.”
“I am confident even without using Limit Break. If you give me enough preparation time… I will kidnap Guimo in three days.”
“If I help, we can shorten the time. It might not be a bad idea to throw a bomb into Guileok Valley and blow it up. At least they’ll be busy with repairs for two months.”
Elena hurriedly interjected.
“Wait a minute. When did I say I wouldn’t do it? I was just thinking for a moment. Don’t go around making me out to be a materialistic woman!”
“Isn’t Elena a materialistic woman? You always consider the benefits in everything… I don’t think I’ve misjudged you.”
“You’ve misjudged me. I only consider the benefits when I need to. This time it’s Yujin’s request, so of course, I’ll do it. Guimo, you said? I’ll bring her in 10 minutes.”
Elena confidently walked out of the dungeon.
I looked around for a moment. This wasn’t a normal dungeon. The fact that the dungeon didn’t disappear even though its master was dead was proof of that.
‘A space created to seal an ancient demon. The space has been distorted by long-term exposure to the demon’s magic. In the original story, it was said to be a perfect place to practice black magic or summon demons.’
I was planning to use the distorted space within to summon a legion commander-level demon. But before that, I needed to throw out bait to signal the legion commander I wanted.
I went outside. Elena was gone. Terra, the highest-grade water spirit, approached and returned the mana cube.
“You’re here? Do I not have to do that anymore?”
“Yeah. I’ll call you again if I need you later, so go back now.”
“Yay!”
Terra was reverse-summoned. The old temple sank back into the lake and disappeared. Yuria and I waited for Elena, having a trivial conversation about what to have for lunch tomorrow.
Elena appeared before us in 15 minutes. In her right hand, she held an old woman with a hunched back. Elena threw Guimo to the ground as if she were a nuisance.
“This is Guimo. I was a little nervous because they said she had precognitive abilities… but she was surprisingly nothing special. It was boring.”
Guimo knelt on the ground and raised her upper body to look at me.
“…So, the center of fate is here.”
“You can foresee the future, but you couldn’t foresee your own future?”
“From the moment I foresaw the future, there was no perfect future…”
“Try to foresee the future. If it’s an interesting prediction, I might spare you.”
Guimo stared blankly at me. Then she raised her head and looked at the night sky. Guimo lowered her head again and chuckled. An eerie aura spread out. Ghosts gathered around her.
I swung the Hwaryeon Bido. A flash of red lightning sliced through the ghosts that were crawling out.
“Did you think you could do anything to us with that? Your own martial strength is truly pathetic.”
“Hehehe. Nothing. I see nothing. It’s dark. Darker than the night sky. If I can’t see the future, is this a blessing? Or a curse? Killing me won’t change much. My existence is insignificant.”
“Killing you or not doesn’t change anything? If I kill you, at least you won’t bother me. Before that, let’s get some information.”
I gestured to Elena. I wanted her to manipulate Guimo’s mind and extract information, just like before. Elena shrugged her shoulders with a tired expression.
“I tried using a light illusion before coming here, but it didn’t work at all.”
“What?”
Elena raised her hand. She pointed at her head with her index finger and spun it around.
“She’s already gone mad. The cause is possession. Countless ghosts have been gnawing at her body and mind, manipulating her. Her precognitive ability is just a byproduct. That woman is a medium. She’s completely insane now and doesn’t even know her own name.”
“Hehehe. The universe protects me, so what is there to fear? Good deeds. Good deeds will lead to everything. Oh, God. Have mercy on us!”
Guimo laughed like a madwoman. I frowned and used the power of truth. I would probably have to deal with Guileok Valley in the future. So, information about Guimo, who could be considered the highest-ranking member of Guileok Valley, would be a great help.
『Using Karma: Good (3) to confirm the target’s true life.』
Guimo’s life was revealed.
A child who could see ghosts was kidnapped by a bad Taoist and became a medium. After that, she lived a life of being used. By her colleagues, her friends, her lovers, and by Guileok Valley.
Even though she gained great power as Guimo, there was nothing she could do. By that time, her mind was no longer sound. She was possessed by a powerful ghost and used like a puppet.
‘She lived a shitty life. But Guimo is Guimo. I got the secrets and information of Guileok Valley.’
*Slash!*
I cut down Guimo.
“Let’s put Guimo’s corpse in the United States.”
“The United States. Is it to sow discord?”
“China and the United States don’t get along anyway. It might work. If it doesn’t, oh well.”
*Kieeeeeeek!*
A ghostly wail echoed.
