Chapter 2193 – 2193. Dark Moon
I stared blankly at the briefly opened entrance.
An unexpected variable had occurred. It was a significant variable that required me to change more than half of my established plans.
‘It’s not a bad variable. Rather, it’s a welcome one.’
The ancient ruins of Great Korea are Korean-friendly. It’s difficult to meet this condition, but once you’re recognized as Korean, things become much easier for many.
‘It’s a lucky situation.’
Even the entrance right in front of me opened automatically. Perhaps the traps lurking inside would also be deactivated.
‘It’s so good that I wonder if it’s okay. I can afford to relax a bit more.’
I hesitated before entering the Sebitseom Island.
“Even if I’m considered Korean… the women beside me aren’t Korean. Is it okay for them to enter with me?”
“Beep. It’s natural for a Korean man to have multiple foreign wives through international marriage.”
“…Is that so.”
Honestly, such cases are rare even in games, so I’m not sure.
Thinking that it’s all for the best, I head inside Sebitseom Island with my group. A long corridor stretched out before us. Entrance 11 had fewer traps and was relatively safer than other entrances, but the path was long.
‘If I had known, I should have started at Entrance 1.’
Entrance 1, the most dangerous but also the fastest for my plan.
I shake off the lingering regrets and start planning again from now on. Just because I’m recognized as Korean doesn’t mean it’s completely safe. This ancient ruin is no different from a dungeon after all this time. I can’t let my guard down.
“It’s fascinating,”
Orsia said. Her voice echoed in the corridor.
“What is?”
“You, Eugene. You seemed to know a lot about the ancient ruins of Great Korea… but I didn’t expect you to be a legitimate descendant of Great Korea. If your K-DNA is over 99%, aren’t you practically a Great Korean yourself? Were you perhaps a frozen human from Great Korea?”
“That’s not it. I’m an orphan… I don’t know much about my roots either.”
I spoke the truth, but Orsia didn’t seem to believe me.
Honestly, I was curious about my own identity too. But it was the kind of problem that no one could clearly answer.
“He’s probably not a frozen human. The AI said there’s no information about him in the database.”
Invisible Blade said.
“…True. If he were a frozen human from Great Korea, there would have been information in the database. So, it’s a coincidence… it’s still fascinating.”
“Maybe it’s not a coincidence, but fate.”
“Fate. I don’t believe in fate.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
“……I’ve been thinking this for a while, but Invisible Blade, you need to be more polite.”
“Well, I’ve lived fine without that. Isn’t it annoying to nitpick everything? Especially since you’re strong.”
“Regardless of strength, people should have manners. A person without manners is just a beast, a barbarian.”
“Are you saying I’m a beast? If you peel back the layers, people are all pretty much the same. Even you, with all your manners, must have something you want to hide.”
Listening to their conversation, I felt I couldn’t stay silent.
“Stop it.”
If I let them go on, they might start to fall apart from the inside.
“This is an ancient ruin. Orsia, please restrain yourself. Invisible Blade, you too. Especially you, you have something you need to do, right?”
“…Sorry. It wasn’t the time for such a conversation.”
“Ah, the traps, right? I found a few… but they weren’t working, so I ignored them. Even if they did work, I could handle them, so don’t worry.”
The moment to see her skills with my own eyes had arrived.
“Stop.”
At Invisible Blade’s words, the group stopped. Invisible Blade made a simple hand seal. A water shuriken appeared between her fingers. She flicked her hand, and the water shuriken flew with fierce momentum, embedding itself in the floor.
KWA-AAANG!
The floor exploded.
“It’s a landmine-type bomb. They’re advanced enough to install AI at the entrance, but the landmine is quite old-fashioned. Usually, when there are mismatched weapons like this… it means there was a battle inside. Maybe there was a rebellion here.”
I was inwardly impressed by Invisible Blade’s insight. An internal rebellion had actually occurred within Sebitseom Island. If you explore these ancient ruins, you can find several records related to it.
“The path has split into two. Up and down. Which way should we go?”
To get the LK-99 superconductor, we need to go down. The superconductor research and production facility is located in the central core area.
“Let’s go up.”
We’ve come this far, it would be foolish to just get the LK-99 and leave. Since we’re here, we should get everything we can.
KWA-AAANG!
An explosion echoed from quite a distance. Pirates. No, the dogs of the corporations must have crashed into Sebitseom Island.
WEE-OO-WEE-OO-WEE-OO!
Sirens blared throughout Sebitseom Island.
-Sebitseom Island is under attack. We have confirmed enemies attempting to invade Sebitseom Island. We are switching to emergency security mode. Citizens, please move to the shelters.
Clank. Clank.
Doors opened in various parts of the corridor, and bipedal robots walked out in an orderly fashion. Orsia and Invisible Blade tensed up without realizing it, but the robots, with the Korean words “Special Police Robot” written on their bodies, quietly passed by us.
‘Sebitseom Island’s power is considerable, but… since the corporations have decided to take action, Sebitseom Island will eventually fall.’
We went up the stairs. The cameras installed on the ceiling glowed. I stood in front of a thick steel door.
“Beep. You are a holder of a special resident card. Welcome. This is the combat robot research lab of Sebitseom Island. Currently, the combat robot research lab is not operational due to the deaths of the director and all researchers.”
“I want to go inside. Can you open the door?”
“Beep. Access granted.”
Originally, it was a place that wouldn’t open even for Koreans. It seemed to be thanks to the special resident card. Although I don’t actually have anything like a resident card.
We went inside. The lab was a mess. Metal parts littered the floor.
“Beep. Do you have any desired materials? All research data has been discarded.”
“Yeah. I’ll take care of it.”
I picked up a spherical component lying in a corner. The only intact part here.
I threw it to Invisible Blade.
“Huh? Are you giving this to me?”
“It’s a core component of the octuple compression barrier technology. Take it.”
“But I’m a ninja?”
“A ninja from a corporation. Acrotex has a lot of employees from the East, I heard.”
“Hmm. I’ll take it gratefully. It’s a technology they’d like. If applied to a cyber suit, it would create a pretty useful item.”
Next, we moved to the bio lab. I gave all the remaining research samples there to Orsia.
“Those are probably samples of heterologous stabilizers. You can research them yourself, or sell them to a company specializing in bio research.”
“…Heterologous stabilizers… is that the drug I’m thinking of?”
“Yes. That’s right. It’s a drug that reduces the side effects of those with mixed blood. Elves might not have many side effects, but… other races tend to have various side effects. This is more stable than any existing heterologous stabilizer. Don’t you need it?”
“…No. It’s a necessary item. If the Hytel School announces this stabilizer… yes. We could gain a great advantage. However, that would make it my achievement. Are you okay with that?”
“It doesn’t matter. Instead, I’ll take the rights to the LK-99 superconductor.”
I’m not just giving things away to them for no reason. The real prize is the superconductor. I need to give them things like this so they won’t covet the superconductor.
We also gathered other minor items. Great Korea’s combat rations, and strange brand drinks like Great Cider. They might not be of great value, but we should take what we can.
We went up to the highest building in Sebitseom Island and looked around. Parts of Sebitseom Island were burning.
Combat personnel dispatched by the corporations and Sebitseom Island’s combat robots were engaged in a fierce battle. The corporate personnel were using high-powered weapons without hesitation. Missiles were hitting everywhere, causing powerful explosions.
They didn’t stop even when personnel from other corporations got caught in the crossfire. No, it seemed like they were intentionally causing it. In the end, the corporations also saw each other as competitors.
It was already a battlefield here.
I clicked my tongue, seeing some of the buildings I had been targeting collapse. It was a shame about the decent artifacts that were inside.
‘These bastards are putting finding artifacts on the back burner and trying to eliminate their competitors first. Even so, this is strange. Corporations would want intact artifact technology… Did one of the corporations betray the others? Then this mess makes sense.’
As I was watching, something caught my senses.
It wasn’t fast, but something quiet and stealthy was targeting me.
‘……A curse?’
Crack.
I swung the current I generated from my fingertips into the air. The current surged and burned the curse that was stealthily flying towards me.
‘A black magic curse. If I hadn’t been steadily researching black magic… I might not have noticed it.’
I don’t know what kind of curse it was.
I looked around to find the culprit who had cursed me, but the surroundings were too chaotic to identify them.
“There seems to be a black rat in the battlefield. It won’t be easy to track them.”
Orsia said. There was no way she, a 7th-grade mage, wouldn’t have noticed the curse that I, a 6th-grade mage, had noticed.
“I don’t like being attacked… but there’s nothing we can gain by joining this battle right now. We’re going down to the core area. It doesn’t seem like we can afford to be too relaxed.”
“That’s true. It seems like at least six corporations are involved in this. They’re going all out. They must be desperate.”
We went down. The deeper we went, the quieter it became. The core of Sebitseom Island was in the center. A space that was less than 1% of the total area.
We went down, opened a magnificent door, and arrived at a plaza-like area. The first arrivals pointed their guns and swords at us. Among them were some familiar faces.
“Mages. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
“To meet here… it seems luck is on our side. You must know the information about this place, right?”
It was Takeshi, a middle-aged man with a sharp impression, and Uhee, a woman with a square face wearing an eye patch. Behind them, corporate employees were lined up.
