Chapter 2195 – 2195. Dark Moon
My memories of my past life are mostly focused on the original game, ‘Dark Moon.’ Recently, other memories have surfaced occasionally, but… they’re just minor things.
‘A memorial service. It’s been so long. How do I do this again?’
There was a memorial service event in the original game as well. However, it was a simplified version. You just clicked a button, and the service would proceed and end on its own. You could even skip it. The service itself was also as brief as possible.
‘Would anyone in their right mind spend more than 30 seconds on a memorial service in a game? The game would be ruined.’
The game developers of Dark Moon knew that well. So, I decided to keep it brief as well.
I poured clear rice wine into a cup, circled it three times over the cyber hologram incense burner, and placed it on the memorial table.
The cyber ancient ancestor deity nodded in satisfaction.
‘Is that right? I guess it is.’
Next, I bowed.
Bowing to someone, even kneeling, was not something I particularly enjoyed. But I had no choice. I had to endure it because there was something I wanted to obtain.
“Hmm. You bow well. The Korean blood in you can’t be denied.”
Is that so? I just did it as I felt like it.
“But why aren’t the ladies behind you bowing? Are they perhaps Christian? Surely they don’t consider our Korean customs to be barbaric?”
The deity’s voice grew colder towards the end. It wasn’t a good idea to create a hostile atmosphere with the deity here.
“They’re foreigners, so they’re not yet familiar with Korean memorial services.”
A scanning light emitted from the tablet, scanning Orsia and Invisible Blade. The cyber ancestor nodded.
“I see. A Japanese and an English woman. It’s natural they wouldn’t know about memorial services. They can learn about them in the future. What is your relationship with these ladies?”
We’re not in any relationship. Saying that would be the wrong answer to anyone. They could be chased away or become targets of hostility. Great Korea wasn’t very welcoming to outsiders.
“They are women I’ve promised to marry. You could say they are my future wives.”
So, if they were considered future family, the situation would be different.
Thankfully, they didn’t object to my words.
“You’ve managed to take such beautiful women as wives. Truly a Korean man. Back in my day, international marriages were popular. Korean women didn’t want to give birth…”
The deity, noticing the tense atmosphere, cleared his throat and changed his tone.
“Anyway, they are women who will become your wives in the future. Why don’t you try bowing?”
“Hmm. You want us to do a dogeza?”
“It’s not a dogeza, it’s a bow!”
“Well, it’s not a difficult thing to do.”
Invisible Blade bowed. It wasn’t a Korean bow, but a dogeza that was close to the proper form. As expected of a ninja, even her dogeza had a certain discipline.
‘Her chest is shaking too much, my eyes keep going there.’
The old deity’s gaze also went towards her chest. For a moment, I was furious and considered flipping the table.
“…If this is part of the ritual, then there’s no helping it.”
Orsia, who was quick to catch on, also cooperated. She performed a dogeza following Invisible Blade.
“I said, not a dogeza, but a bow!”
The deity was angry, but that was it. He cleared his throat and spoke.
“Ahem. I’ll let it slide since you’re foreigners. Make sure you bow properly next time. Ah, descendant. You’ve chosen your women well. After examining them, I’ve confirmed that the Japanese woman has the potential to be a good wife and mother, and the English woman has inherited a mysterious power. Korea always welcomes talent.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“Good. Now, tell me. Why have you come all the way to Sebitseom?”
“I wish to acquire the rights to LK-99, the origin of Great Korea and the start of its glorious history.”
“LK-99… It is everything to this Sebitseom. It is also the starting point of war. Are you aware of that? We hid LK-99 for decades after its development. But there are no eternal secrets… China and Japan found out and coveted LK-99, which led to war.”
“What was the result of the war?”
“If you, a person from the future, don’t know… then I don’t know either. Sebitseom was the first place to be attacked. I willingly sealed this Sebitseom for Korea, along with this AI that is a copy of my mind. Can you handle LK-99?”
Of course, I couldn’t handle it alone. But the Bardo Association was a different story. Also, the current era was different from the past. In this world where magic engineering was common, the value of LK-99 was bound to diminish. Superconductor? It was possible to create one by actively using magic. However, it couldn’t match the cost-effectiveness of LK-99.
“I can handle it.”
“Good. It is only right that Korean technology should be in the hands of Koreans. I will transfer the rights to LK-99 to you.”
The hologram on the memorial table disappeared as if it had been turned off. Then, the memorial table split open, and a machine rose up. It was a familiar shape.
“…A water purifier?”
“Ahem. A water purifier? This is our great Korean invention, the LK-Dispenser.”
“What is that?”
I asked in confusion. In the original game, they gave you the rights to the superconductor, but only handed over a special material called the essence of the superconductor. I was planning to take that and research it separately. I had some confidence in my alchemy skills.
“LK-99 is made of copper, lead, and a special material called LK. Actually, the LK special material is the real deal. This LK-Dispenser can produce 5 liters of LK special material every 24 hours.”
“……What does LK stand for?”
“It stands for Legend Korea.”
“……”
He didn’t seem to be joking. I grabbed the water purifier. A sound came from the water purifier.
“Beep. Han Nam Yoo Jin. You have been certified as the manager of LK-99.”
“How much superconductor can you make with this special material?”
“It depends on how you use it. If your purpose is simply to mass-produce superconductors, and your mass-production facilities are optimized, you can produce more than 10 tons of superconductor per liter.”
“Are there any other uses for the LK special material?”
“That… I don’t know. Strangely, that information has been erased. You’ll have to find out the other uses of the LK special material yourself.”
It wasn’t like I knew everything about the original game. The game’s world was vast, and as far as I remembered, it didn’t have an ending. It was an open-world game that continued to receive patches and updates. It wasn’t strange that there were settings I didn’t know about.
I had taken what I needed for now. I asked Orsia to store the LK-Dispenser in her subspace. Then, I asked the deity for the detailed recipe for LK-99. The recipe for LK-99 was simpler than I thought. You just had to put lead, copper, and the LK special material together and bake it properly, and voila, a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor was complete.
‘I’ve obtained the LK-99 I was aiming for. I’ll have to think about how to mass-produce and distribute it when I return to Neo London.’
KWAANG!
Just as I was getting what I needed and taking a quiet rest, the ground suddenly shook.
“Those bastards. The intruders are too reckless. It seems we won’t be able to hold out for long. If I could, I’d like to give you the management rights to this Sebitseom… but it seems impossible. Most of the rights to Sebitseom have disappeared, and there’s not much left. But I can’t hand it over to anyone else…”
“Are you going to self-destruct?”
“You know well. Sebitseom will meet its end in an hour. Get out of here before then. I… it’s time for me to disappear. It was nice meeting you.”
POP.
The tablet exploded.
We had no choice but to get up from our rest.
‘Sebitseom’s self-destruction was a predetermined course, but… it’s self-destructing already? The situation is worse than I thought. The corporations’ capabilities are greater than I expected.’
I looked at Orsia.
“Orsia, can you escape with mass teleportation?”
“…Long-distance space travel is impossible. The power of the ruins is interfering. We need to get outside at least.”
“I see. It won’t help to stay here, so let’s get out.”
KWAANG!
A shockwave burst from the ceiling. My experience as a soldier told me that a bunker buster missile had hit the ceiling.
But the ceiling held. Sebitseom was an ancient ruin of Great Korea. It wouldn’t collapse from a single bunker buster. But what if it wasn’t just one?
KWAANG! KWAANG!
Shockwaves burst one after another.
‘…They’re using bunker busters in succession? …It’s possible that not just corporations, but a country is involved.’
More than that, I couldn’t understand why they were coming out so urgently.
‘It’s as if they know we got our hands on the superconductor. Did they notice something?’
KWAANG!
The ceiling collapsed, and sunlight illuminated the interior. We tensed up, preparing for battle. Armed figures slowly descended from the ceiling.
“Mage detected. Capture is the priority. Return fire.”
The battle began.
• • •
Aman and Dr. Hong Baejeok were separated from the group after falling into a trap. Fortunately, they survived, but the fact that they had fallen deep underground was not good news.
“Damn it… The corporations are shooting each other, and instead of escaping, I’m stuck carrying around a useless load…”
Aman was extremely displeased with the situation. He wanted to abandon Dr. Hong and run away, but if he did, he would be completely at odds with the corporations. The only consolation was that Dr. Hong wasn’t completely useless.
“Look at that sign! There’s a Paranormal Creature Research Institute! Paranormal creatures! It’s definitely a place that researches monsters with abilities! It’s definitely worth checking out!”
“…If we get our hands on those research materials, we can make a fortune, right? Not bad.”
Aman imagined himself handing over the research materials to the corporations and becoming an executive. He didn’t want to live as a pirate forever. They say that crises and opportunities come together. It seemed like a chance to change his fate had come unexpectedly.
“Dr. Hong, lead the way to that research lab or whatever it is.”
“This way!”
Dr. Hong ran excitedly. The ancient ruins of Great Korea were waiting for him.
