Chapter 95

Chapter 95.

My chest swelled all on its own.

I thought of my former disciple, the original owner of this fucking awesome Mobile Fortress.

Iranshu.

‘What belongs to the disciple originally belongs to the master.’

Consider it a learning experience.

The guy had become less than human, a trash insect.

Even the way he made his pathetic exit while spouting a third-rate villain line like “You will see next time” was idiotic.

But I could not laugh at his ability itself.

‘The power he used... was not Mana.’

I had definitely turned on Synchronization with Nopi and fought while seeing the Threads of Mana.

If Iranshu had been an ordinary mage, I would have seen Mana ripple every time he used an ability.

Then I could have immediately used Dispel and countered him perfectly, but...

The Threads of Mana around Iranshu remained still the entire time he fought me.

That meant the power Iranshu used was completely unrelated to Mana.

‘Is it a trait of the power granted by an Outer God?’

The power of Degradation.

There was a high chance that was its trait.

In that case, not being able to see Threads of Mana was not a drawback.

Rather, it worked as an unrivaled advantage.

‘...This is a huge gain, isn’t it?’

It meant I had gained a radar that could filter out Outer God lackeys from now on.

“If I keep Nopi on and tell someone to cast magic in front of me...”

If the Threads of Mana reacted, they were human.

If they did not react, they were an Outer God’s lackey.

A traitor who had abandoned being human and chosen an Outer God.

In other words, Degraded Ones.

‘I wonder how many have infiltrated.’

The fact that I had to look directly and judge for myself was a fatal flaw.

Considering the traits of cockroach-like bastards like them, they were probably spread far and wide.

For now, I would be satisfied with having gained a radar with a 100% accuracy rate.

“Nopi has become even more important.”

That made Nopi’s upgrade even more urgent.

Among those upgrades, the most urgent one was the battery.

Every time I did anything, the battery drained like crazy, and even while fighting, constantly checking the battery level was causing me no small amount of stress.

I had also thought of an upgrade method.

As it happened.

Pandemonium’s Mobile Fortress had also become ‘mine,’ so...

I had decided where to use one of the four Possession Tickets I now had.

***

After Min Ji-hee, Lee Hyeong-je, and Kang Hyo-jun returned from subjugating the Degraded Entity in the U.S...

In other words, I summoned the ‘brainy trio.’

“Apostle, are you injured anywhere?”

“This is Pandemonium’s Mobile Fortress...?”

“I believe it should be called ruins rather than a fortress.”

I raised my hand and silenced the three, who were each chattering in their own way.

“This Mobile Fortress is now mine.”

“!”

The three of them went round-eyed.

“Discuss how we can put this to good use from now on, then report to me.”

No sooner had I given the order than the three of them gathered in a corner and began a serious meeting with their heads together.

After successfully dumping the work onto them, I separately called over someone who had come along with the three.

This was someone I had taken special care to summon.

“......Um, why did you call me?”

A blonde woman with a half-dead face.

It was Happy.

The way she watched my mood but could not even properly meet my eyes...

was like looking at a frightened borzoi.

‘Why is she afraid of me?’

It was not as if I had done anything bad to Happy...

I had gotten rid of her bad workplace and introduced her to a new job.

I could have taken her graphics card away entirely, but I had generously compromised by only borrowing it.

I had even created the humanitarian and grand project called ‘rebuilding the Republic of Korea’ so she could find meaning in life.

I took the stiffened woman with me and moved to a quiet place.

The whole way there, Happy trembled like an ox being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

Hmm.

I glanced around.

As it happened, the place we entered looked like the fortress cafeteria...

or perhaps it might have been a lounge...

I rummaged through the refrigerator in that strange ruin, but there was not a single drink.

‘There isn’t even water here.’

I had been going to offer her something to drink so she could relax.

Nothing I could do about it.

I simply brought over a chair that looked intact and sat down.

Happy also watched my mood, picked up a chair, and sat beside me.

‘...Why is she sitting beside me?’

Isn’t it standard to sit facing each other during a meeting?

Is making eye contact that scary?

“Are you afraid?”

“...Y-yes?”

“I was joking. Do not be so startled.”

It had been a light joke as far as I was concerned, but Happy’s face went white as if she might stop breathing any second.

Seeing her this scared made me want to tease her.

But if I actually teased her, Happy looked like she might faint, so I stopped myself.

‘I will definitely repay this debt.’

To think she robbed me of my chance to joke...

When I silently glared at her in resentment, Happy’s shoulders flinched and jumped hard.

Before she got even more frightened, I quickly moved to the main subject.

“About that graphics card.”

“Ah. Yes! Are you going to return it?”

“?”

I almost reflexively said, Are you insane?

When I stared at her in disbelief, Happy glanced at me, gasped, and immediately spat out an excuse.

“...Ah. No, um, I am sorry. How dare I.”

Why would I return what is mine?

‘No, no!’

You evil spirit! Get out of my body!

Let us be clear.

I did not shake Happy down for the graphics card.

I strictly ‘borrowed’ it.

Of course I would return it.

...But it did hurt my feelings a little.

Did I ever say I would not return it?

How petty, thinking about getting it back already when hardly any time had passed.

How could trust between people be this thin?

When I looked down at her intently, full of disbelief, Happy read the mood and immediately lowered her head.

“I am sorry! I said something presumptuous!”

“What is that reaction, as if I said I would not return it? Are you looking at me like I am some kind of mafia member... Is that what you mean?”

“N-no! I consider it the honor of my family that my graphics card is installed in the laptop you use, Apostle!”

“I have a plan, and I borrowed it temporarily because I have a use for it. I said I will return it once I am done using it, didn’t I?”

Happy hesitated for a moment as her eyes rolled, then carefully asked in a voice as tiny as a mosquito.

“...Once you are done using it... when would that be?”

“What?”

“Nothing!”

The misunderstanding had been cleared up.

‘Whew. I almost threw away the conscience in my heart.’

For a moment, in a fit of anger, I had wanted to never return it and treat it as mine forever...

but I splendidly recovered my reason and conscience.

“I looked into it. That component is not ordinary, is it?”

“Yes. Naturally. It is my proudest work.”

A hint of pride briefly crossed Happy’s face.

People who customize PCs originally devote their loyalty to those who recognize the value of their parts.

Like generals in old classical literature who gave their loyalty to those who recognized their worth.

“Are there more?”

“...”

Happy’s face stiffened.

“Uh, no.”

“Hmm...”

“I went through a lot of trouble just to make that one! I spent a lot of money too.”

“How did you make it? By hand?”

If that was the case, I planned to drastically raise Happy’s salary and use her for the rest of her life as my exclusive slave... no, chief engineer.

“No.”

Of course, that was not the case.

“I assembled and tuned it, but I did not make the core chipset. To begin with, it is not an item that can be produced through an ordinary process.”

“Then?”

“There is one mad Artisan in Italy. An outlier in Hunter society and an old geezer who stands at the pinnacle of Magitech and mechanical engineering... It is the masterpiece that man carved by hand, one painstaking piece at a time, while holed up in his workshop.”

‘Italy...’

I felt the puzzle pieces in my head fit together with a click.

The first piece.

Nopi’s upgrade.

Nopi’s battery problem was a top-priority issue that absolutely had to be solved.

And the components that were still stuck at low grades also had to be improved.

If possible, upgrading even the components that were only S-rank to EX and aiming for additional effects would be the best-case scenario.

The ‘old geezer’ Happy mentioned was someone who already had experience creating an EX-rank graphics card recognized by the System.

If it was this person, he had the qualifications to handle Nopi’s other upgrades.

The second piece.

Repairing the Mobile Fortress Arachne.

I turned my gaze and looked over the wretched debris of the fortress and the torn-apart bulkheads I had wrecked while stupidly breaking through in a straight line.

It was almost half-destroyed.

I had obtained an incredible trophy, but... if I wanted to repair the damaged parts and further modify it heavily to suit my tastes, it was obvious that ordinary technicians would not even be able to give an estimate.

I needed a Magitech engineer beyond the standard.

And although computer parts had settled down now, they were once called the flower of Magitech.

The ‘old geezer’ had already proven himself by making an EX-rank component, so there was no need to consider anyone else.

On top of that, the most important third piece.

Possession Tickets and the Corridor of Constellations unlock!

The Possession Tickets I had gained as rewards this time numbered four.

My combat power had more or less reached its peak after unlocking Sword Saint.

The next step was to unlock a production/crafting type that could directly handle Artifacts, alchemy, and more.

Precisely Branch 13, ‘Creation’!

The problem was that I had to consider Potential Ability, Aptitude, and compatibility too.

After all, I had to obtain as much as possible from a single Possession.

For that, a neighborhood blacksmith or an S-rank crafter would not be anywhere near enough.

I needed to possess an outstanding Artisan with overwhelming knowledge and talent, then suck every last drop of essence out of him.

For this as well, the ‘old geezer’ was perfect.

Three difficult problems.

All of them had been solved by the existence of one person called the ‘old geezer.’

It felt as if a blockage had been cleared out.

‘Peace...!’

How did everything fit together this perfectly?

“Happy.”

“Yes?”

“Pack your things.”

“What? All of a sudden?”

“We’re going to Italy. Guide me.”

I cheerfully declared this to the frozen Happy.

“Let us go meet that ‘old geezer.’”

Oh, right. There was a fourth piece too.

I had to catch the Saintess who had fled to Italy and bring her back.

“Apostle!”

Happy urgently stopped me just as I was sinking into that happy imagination.

“That old geezer absolutely cannot be moved with money or threats. He is a madman who snorted even when the mafia shoved guns at him. He also refused when Associations from various countries offered him blank checks, saying they would give him as much Gold or as many Points as he wanted.”

“Oh.”

I liked him very much.

An Artisan should have at least that much stubbornness.

“He is someone who bows his head only to those who show him a ‘divine technique’ he cannot understand.”

“How were you able to request a graphics card from an Artisan like that?”

“I showed him Holy Water. He took interest because he said it was something he had never seen before...”

“Hmm.”

“From the second proposal onward, he refused no matter how many Holy Waters I offered, saying it was not as interesting as he expected. After that, it became impossible to even see his face.”

A divine technique, huh.

Considering that he had taken interest in Holy Water, his experience did not seem all that broad.

Considering that he had immediately lost interest in Holy Water afterward, his eye for separating the fake from the real seemed genuine.

At this level, there was no problem at all.

‘Alchemy isn’t something that can only be done if you have a Skill.’

However, the schedule would need some adjustment.

“I need to farm the Tower first.”

Wow.

That solved the fifth puzzle too.

The Tower farming period that would continue for about a month.

I had not been able to decide when I should go coast through it...

But I could make a ‘divine technique’ to show the old geezer while I was at it.

I could simply go farm.

Considering the level of Consumable Artifacts circulating on Earth,

and the eye of the old geezer, an ‘Artisan’ counted among the best on Earth...

‘That potion should be enough.’

I will make him crawl and beg me to sell him just one more bottle.

Ah.

If I show him that potion, his favorability will explode, so the Codex should unlock too.

That completes even the sixth puzzle.