Chapter 103

〈Chapter 103〉 Part 1, Chapter 6 (9)

<4:29 PM, Gyeongbu Expressway Dongdaegu Junction>

“…Hmm.”

Yun Yuhwa made an irritated expression as he turned the steering wheel. A specially modified 25-ton truck ran over a monster and continued down the road.

[What’s wrong? You don’t look too good.]

“It’s nothing, Father. I just got some news from Japan that’s bothering me.”

The masked man on the screen, Heo Yoon-hwan, spoke from behind his mask.

[What kind of news? Don’t tell me there’s trouble with Moby Dick?]

“Moby Dick is still heading to Busan. Harang and the other heroes are preparing to intercept any monsters coming ashore. The real problem is out at sea…”

Yun Yuhwa quickly scanned the data streaming into the screen. This was highly confidential information sent from the mechanical puppets he personally controlled, as well as those sold commercially.

“The strawberry cargo ship is in some danger now. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to head toward Tsushima Island right now.”

[Tsushima? Didn’t they withdraw the local Hero Association branch from there?]

“The ship itself shouldn’t have major problems. That Gale Guest’s younger sister is aboard anyway.”

[Gale Guest? Isn’t that loafer supposed to be in America?]

As Heo Yoon-hwan spoke, Yun Yuhwa took a deep breath.

“…I hope she arrives safely.”

[Is it about people or strawberries?]

“Of course it’s about the people! All the passengers aboard paid for tickets from Yu Sung Shipping Company – they’re my customers. As the company owner, it’s only natural I take responsibility.”

[…That sounds commendable but also strangely unsettling. Anyway, hurry up. It’s already past four-thirty.]

Yun Yuhwa felt a lump rise in his throat but swallowed it down as he pressed the accelerator.

[By the way, about this suit…]

A completely black hero suit covering everything from head to toe. Heo Yoon-hwan touched his mask with his gloved hand.

[It seems different from the design I originally suggested. Though this one isn’t bad either…]

“That design would’ve gotten us sued for copyright infringement.”

[That’s true. Still, this current design isn’t bad either… except…]

Heo Yoon-hwan pointed to the upper part of his helmet-like mask. The military cap-style top from his original request had been replaced with a slightly different design.

[This way, the title “Dark Lord” loses its meaning, which is somewhat disappointing.]

“…Everything else is pretty much the same. You should be satisfied with that. It took three hours just to change that part.”

[Yuuugghh…]

The seven puppets operated by Yun Yuhwa all sighed simultaneously. They couldn’t sigh openly in front of Heo Yoon-hwan, though.

Though they’d become surprisingly close since their days together, Heo Yoon-hwan sometimes seemed alarmingly unhinged these days.

Of course, Yun Yuhwa had grown warmer towards Heo Yoon-hwan compared to before. Like Phoenix, he’d become someone Yun Yuhwa could confide in comfortably.

KUNG! The truck hit another monster. Though Yun Yuhwa’s body shook, he quickly regained control and straightened the vehicle.

[Still, you continue to amaze me. To think a woman can handle such a large trailer…]

“It’s thanks to my special abilities. All the experiences of the other puppets flow into me.”

[Living seven times as many lives as normal people must be tough.]

“Mostly among tycoons, though.”

There was a brief pause. The lenses of Heo Yoon-hwan’s mask glimmered.

[…Could those Xroids possibly be you?]

“Mother! What exactly are you implying?”

Yun Yuhwa swerved the steering wheel left and right, causing the back of the truck to rock violently. Heo Yoon-hwan almost fell but caught himself against the wall.

“You don’t seriously think I connected my powers to the Xroids, do you?”

[Rational suspicion. Aren’t those Eun Jae-min type androids basically humanoid robots too?]

At Heo Yoon-hwan’s accusatory question, Yun Yuhwa nodded.

“…I technically could connect them, but I don’t. Even I wouldn’t go so far as to risk damaging my body. Instead, I’ve mastered the theory. We’ve compiled all that data in Yu Sung’s database.”

[What?!]

Heo Yoon-hwan’s voice rose. Panic could be sensed through his mask.

“It’s all stored on our servers – who in South Korea and around the world purchased our Xroids, what fetishes they have, and how they play with their Xroids. And the Xroids send me all kinds of data. Not directly, of course; we have a separate terminal for that. There’s a dedicated puppet just for processing it all.”

[Yooouuu…]

Yun Yuhwa gave a bitter laugh.

“Brothers die, you know. Some were already married with kids, others were reckless daredevils. But even if it’s dirty work, I still needed some form of sexual release. So this was my solution. I keep my body pure while…”

[…Many thoughts come to mind.]

Heo Yoon-hwan spoke kindly.

“You’ve suffered greatly. Truly.”

“Right? But there are benefits to this situation too. I get to learn all sorts of things about the people who buy Xroids. It’s quite entertaining. There are those who act gentlemanly in public but enjoy BDSM with their Xroids, and others who treat them like real humans. Oh, speaking of which, Father, back in 2011-”

[Enough!]

Heo Yoon-hwan hastily cut him off. Yun Yuhwa smirked.

“You bought one and never used it, despite it being a special order. I remember because of the custom size specifications – clearly a 14-”

[…What have I done wrong?]

“Nothing really. Except for insisting on the design changes that delayed us three hours?”

The car jolted again as it crushed the corpse of a monster abandoned on the road.

[If you were to marry a woman in the future, would you consider having her marry one of your puppets instead?]

“Hmm, never thought about that…”

Yun Yuhwa tapped the steering wheel with his fingers, lost in thought. Marriage wasn’t something he usually considered.

“I’m already married to money, after all.”

[So this is marriage fraud.]

Heo Yoon-hwan shook his head. Yun Yuhwa slammed the accelerator.

“Well, if there’s someone more valuable to me than money, I might reconsider.”

[Would such a person exist?]

Yun Yuhwa simply smiled without answering.

* * *

<4:29 PM, Phoenix Penthouse>

“Seems like I called everyone here unnecessarily.”

I sat in a chair flipping through papers while processing complaints. Though Ryu Cheonseong became mayor of Seoul, the residents were already accustomed to having issues resolved through the Blue Wind Sect.

‘Time to start directing them to file complaints with Seoul City.’

On the surface, it’ll appear as Mayor Ryu’s achievements, but in reality, the overwhelming number of issues will continue to be handled by the Blue Wind Sect, as they always have.

‘Busan can be managed fine by Seok Harang.’

Whether it’s Naha Gate or Okinawa’s dimensional portal producing monsters, they’re mid-boss level at best. Talking about things like Second Form Sumaryong Dragons, any SS-Rank hero could handle them one-on-one.

‘Rest of the small fries can be dealt with accordingly.’

With the Blue Wind Sect restoring Seoul, it’s only right that the heroes handle Busan’s issues themselves. If they can’t manage this level of crisis, they’ll collapse easily when faced with more serious dangers ahead.

‘SS-Rank is practically world-class strength now. They should be able to handle it.’

Even during the original timeline, there were barely ten people at this rank. Seok Harang has already surpassed his level from five years later, so he needs to earn his keep.

‘The real problem is Pyongyang.’

The hidden boss and top-three difficulty monster <Nuclearian> from Pyongyang.

‘Minimum four SS-Ranks needed for a safe capture,’ that damn cat said.

Not that I can’t handle it alone. Just need to bring out the main body. But doing so would turn the Korean Peninsula from a peninsula into an island due to collateral damage.

‘Me and Seok Harang make two. Need two more.’

Who could reach SS-Rank at this point? The first candidates that came to mind were the Round Table knights. Specifically, Sir Gawein, the world’s first SS-Rank Knight. The righteous guardian of Britain and leader of the Round Table heroes.

“Nope, scratch that. Who’s talking about the sun here? Too arrogant.”

When the actual Sun and a solar spirit of equal power exist, how dare mere humans talk about the sun? Definitely deserving of death-

“…Ahem.”

Seemed like I was under too much stress. I neatly organized the papers and pushed them aside.

It was quiet. After the Cheon Gaeul attack incident, I put up barriers around the penthouse so no one could enter without my permission. The only person in this room is Blazing Phoenix, just one person. I decided to calm down and think clearly.

‘Clearly need to invest more resources.’

The growth of the cadres is slower than expected. Even feeding them cores like a mother bird feeding her chicks has its limits.

‘After all, compatibility is basically capped at certain levels, making further growth difficult.’

If this were a game system, compatibility would be represented as ‘level’. But we haven’t developed a ‘Magic Power Scanner’ to quantify personal compatibility yet.

“Himeji Hikari.”

For some reason, the main heroine who came to Korea. A woman who discovered the existence of cores while conducting research at the Daejeon research facility based on her Japanese doctorate degree and sought help from the protagonist group. With Cheongsong here, that future won’t happen, but until Hikari develops the scanner, objectively assessing compatibility will remain difficult. Not something anyone can casually hug.

“She’s probably in middle school now.”

If Yun Yuhwa is a prodigy tycoon, then Hikari is a genius in both magic and science.

“If only she didn’t have that brother, I could’ve brought her in immediately.”

Just as Heo Yoon-hwan is an obstacle for Seok Harang, Hikari’s only older brother Hayate is a significant hindrance. The murderer who constantly tries to kill the protagonist is none other than Gale Guest, ‘Himeji Hayate’.

“…No, how am I going to manage more here?”

Cheon Gaeul, Yun Yuhwa, Seok Harang.

Three people alone are already overwhelming. Adding the main heroine would definitely create chaos. Not to mention how she keeps stirring people’s emotions-

“Hey, stop looking far away and focus nearby.”

Naturally, the S-Ranks of Korea came to mind. Saint Yui Na, Blue Cloud Park Ra-on, Night Emperor Kim Nuri…

“Why are they all women?!”

This presents several problems. How could the main heroines pop into mind first? Is this world’s South Korea a matriarchal society? Yet considering the balance of the Round Table, that doesn’t seem right either.

‘…Makes sense they come to mind first since they’ve been trained the most.’

Originally, these three were the protagonist’s initial teammates. Whether disregarding their status as main heroines or not, all three possess the potential to reach S-Rank through their own abilities.

If we’re talking male candidates-

“Brother hasn’t come to Korea yet, and among current S-Ranks, there’s Lee Seung-hyung…”

I paused briefly, lost in thought.

“Should I really train him? Properly?”

This guy is practically a direct disciple of Kim Chul-soo’s Hwakwon martial art. With Lee Seung-hyung taking over the position through the sect master, an ambiguous teacher-student relationship formed between us in terms of martial arts.

“Anyone who likes Cheon Gaeul must die, no! Focus! Don’t dwell on the past, only think about the future! Defeat Seongju! Defeat Otherworldly Gods!”

How important is someone else’s past anyway? Whether Cheon Gaeul was in a couple with Lee Seung-hyung, kissed, or even slept together, saving the world and surviving is what matters first-

BAM! I smacked my forehead directly onto the desk. My forehead didn’t hurt, but my heart did.

What should I call this strange feeling now? It’s like hearing your ex-girlfriend has a new crush. For some reason, memories surfaced of sleepless nights secretly checking that guy’s SNS late at night.

Right. If I must name it, it’s about getting NTR-ed by Cheon Gaeul in regards to Lee Seung-hyung-

BAM! BAM BAM!

What am I even thinking about naming it? Just because Cheon Gaeul shows slight affection towards me, accepting it would make me feel too guilty. In various ways.

I rested my forehead on the desk and took a deep breath. The accelerating mana pulse gradually slowed down.

‘Objectively. Judge solely based on power. Should I recruit Lee Seung-hyung as an ally?’

“Guess I should ask Cheon Gaeul first…”

An idea came to mind – tying Lee Seung-hyung to the Blue Wind Sect through Cheon Gaeul. But I didn’t want to do that to Cheon Gaeul.

‘Be cool. Lee Seung-hyung is a good talent.’

Must acknowledge what deserves acknowledgment. Since I was the one who brought him to S-Rank, purely considering immediate combat power, he’s certainly a valuable man. With me being a fire elemental spirit, properly training him could elevate him to the highest level.

“Whether he becomes a hero, villain, or madman depends on Cheon Gaeul.”

That way, I erased Lee Seung-hyung from my mind. Without Lee Seung-hyung, the remaining S-Ranks-

“Thinking about it is pointless anyway.”

Considering current combat power, there’s neither need nor thought for using them.

‘Nuclearian won’t wake up unless disturbed first.’

“Since it’s using cubes as cores, we’ll need to deal with it eventually, but considering it produces monsters, there’s no immediate need to capture it now.”

It’ll just keep sleeping underground until the game ends if we leave it alone. No need to extract the liver from the goose laying golden eggs.

It was already 4:33 AM. The time when humans feel most exhausted, but spirits lack physical fatigue.

“Need to finish processing complaints and grind cores.”

I started drawing red lines through the papers.

About ten minutes later, at 4:44 AM, heroes gathered in China’s Shaanxi province.

They called themselves volunteer soldiers united by justice rather than any association or central party, declaring their intention to eliminate the Pyongyang monster threatening Manchurian peace.

I urgently summoned the officers to the penthouse.

Approximately 4,000 heroes participated in the surprise operation.

Leading the charge was Main Heroine Yunjang Xiao Lin, waving a green banner, a member of the Round Table.