Chapter 15

Chapter 15. Transcendent (3)

[Mystery] was a kind of omnipotent substance with the peculiar property of granting human wishes.

'Without it, humanity would've gone extinct long ago.'

[WorldNet], bestowed upon humanity like a miracle.

WorldNet, which had replaced smartphones and computers, was astonishingly a Mystery given free of charge to all of humanity.

Everything else, however, was not.

'Electricity, water supply— those are just the basics. Every resource runs on Mystery.'

On top of that, it safeguarded essential human life through air purification, ocean decontamination, and the like.

Without Mystery, humanity couldn't survive.

Think of it as the omnipotent resource that had become the foundation of the world.

"Hmm......"

Something I'd learned while browsing WorldNet: the 1kg Mystery ingot I possessed was genuinely worth 100 trillion won.

What could I do with it—.

'Maybe even reclaim North Korea?'

Roughly 3,000 Hunters had been mobilized for the Red Sea crisis.

Essentially every Awakened in the Seoul area.

If I used the 1kg Mystery ingot to power a [Mobile Pseudo-Gate], approximately 3,000 Hunters could use their Awakened powers in reality for about 30 days.

That's how much energy it contained.

'3,000 Awakened rampaging for 30 days?'

China was the one that had consumed the fallen North Korea.

There was a chance we could drive out the Chinese in North Korean territory and reclaim our nation's rightful land.

Of course, this was purely my own hypothesis.

If an actual war broke out, Gates would erupt and the country would collapse.

Anyway.

I now fully understood the value of the Mystery I possessed.

I also knew how tremendously it could help if used for the people.

Even so, I was going to use the Mystery for my own personal purposes.

I called the president directly.

And stated my request.

Whereupon—.

—A M-Mystery, 1kg, in ingot form no less...... I had no idea the Red Sea yielded such a massive amount of Mystery!!!

The president asked in a considerably flustered tone.

—S-so you're saying you want to make an accessory out of it?

I gave my specific requirements.

The president asked again.

—You, a Transcendent, Mr. Shin Si-woo, wish to use 1kg of Mystery to create a bracelet-type accessory?

"That's correct."

Adding [Pseudo-Gate] functionality would've been even better, but I didn't mention that.

It might raise unnecessary suspicion.

The [Mystery] as-is was more than enough to serve my purposes.

—May I ask the purpose......

"A small hobby. It's a bit embarrassing to explain, actually."

I deflected, naturally.

No reason to reveal my weaknesses.

—A s-small hobby!!!

The line went quiet for a moment, apparently deep in thought.

In truth, I had one specific, clear objective.

Four seconds of omnipotence.

With two swords unlocked, that was eight seconds.

'The Baby Sword is different.'

My Baby Sword was a sword that hadn't Transcended.

Its actual power fell far short of the Transcendent level.

If I used the 1kg ingot as a [Pseudo-Gate] exclusively for myself.......

'I can be with the Baby Sword 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.'

That was my objective.

The Ego Swords could only manifest for seconds at a time outside the [Tower] anyway.

Unlike the Ego Swords, the Baby Sword hadn't yet spent nearly enough time with me.

This was a guardian's choice— to build a bond.

'Besides, once I deal with Gye Man-hwi and obtain the [Scabbard], the sword obviously needs to exist in reality.'

The void where the Baby Sword currently rested wasn't even a [Scabbard].

Just a dimensional space connected to the world of swords.

'It doubles as a self-defense measure too.'

Being able to draw the Baby Sword immediately in an emergency was a huge advantage.

Just as my thoughts reached that point—.

—Th-that's far too large a quantity. Under the Patriot Special Act, Mystery of that volume is classified as a national strategic resource and cannot be privately possessed......

No matter what, that was going too far!

The president conveyed that sentiment.

I was dumbfounded.

"I'm in a position to keep the Patriot in check— do you think I'd worry about such a trivial issue?"

—The resources expended during the Red Sea crisis were enormous. Perhaps you could at least sell a portion to the state......

I was equally dumbfounded by this.

"I cleaned up the Red Sea in four seconds and saved the government a massive amount of strategic resources, didn't I?"

I'd prevented a major catastrophe.

So conversely, they owed me compensation.

—A plaque of appreciation and reward for the Red Sea will be presented alongside a medal at the appointment ceremony. For reference, the amount is 50 billion won. By rights, a larger sum should have been allocated, however......

I graciously said the money was sufficient.

50 billion was more than enough in the current world.

Still, one should never show satisfaction when being offered something.

"The shortfall can be covered by putting my ingot toward the equipment fabrication."

I made a single demand.

A remarkably simple request: just process the Mystery ingot and shape it into a bracelet.

The workshop at the Blue House could handle it in no time.

"This is already a major concession on my part."

The president, apparently recognizing that nothing I'd said was wrong, ultimately agreed.

—Whatever you require, we will accommodate.

Now I could be with the Baby Sword 24/7, 365 days a year.

"The Mystery issue is settled, so all that's left is the Jesus countermeasure......"

My schedule was incredibly tight.

Tonight was the Transcendent appointment ceremony.

And within days, EX-rank Hunter Jesus would be arriving.

His objective: to destroy me.

But I had a countermeasure.

'Divine power.'

When the saintess had given me the last card—

The card depicted me holding a noble holy sword.

And behind that, the back of a pigtailed head, watching.

According to the saintess's interpretation—.

—Mr. Si-woo will demonstrate sacred power, and a Jesus moved by it will solidify a deep bond with you.

Among the Ego Swords, there was exactly one holy sword.

'2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia.'

The Saintess of the Holy Nation of Lanestia.

And the 5th ending chronicler who had witnessed the world's end with a [Divine Sword] lineage.

For some reason, she wasn't responding to me at all.

So Reinhardt had gone to speak with her.

'It'll work out.'

Trusting the dependable Reinhardt, I devised my own countermeasures.

[Mystery] was one of them.

My 'Baby Sword' was Chaos-aligned with a [Holy-Demon Sword] form.

It could absolutely emit sacred power.

'Whatever happens, I've got enough countermeasures for Jesus.'

I headed to the Blue House.

To submit the [Mystery 1kg Ingot] and commission the item's creation.

'Oh, the Transcendent appointment ceremony is tonight too.'

Well, that was just a bonus.

* * *

"I figured Mr. Shin Si-woo would have some kind of issue too, but......"

The president began lamenting to Kang Mu-jin.

"He says he wants to make an accessory with 1kg of Mystery. Even said it's a 'small hobby' he's 'embarrassed' about."

A perfectly normal young man.

Good at negotiating.

Articulate, and knew how to claim fair compensation for his work.

Completely different from the blustering Patriot.

But—.

"Even so, burning 1kg of Mystery on an accessory? Hah—."

He went overboard in certain areas.

The president now knew what direction Shin Si-woo's madness lay.

Similar breed to the Saintess of Fate.

The kind of warped mentality that wanted to flaunt an accessory made from Mystery— the substance that sustained humanity's fate—.

"He indulges in luxury......"

Just as the president's lament was about to continue—

Kang Mu-jin abruptly cut him off.

"It's probably for the country. Shin Si-woo is absolutely not the type to be unhinged in that direction."

"Then what could he possibly use it for?"

"I wouldn't know. But given that he knew about demon worshippers in advance, it might be some kind of detection tool."

"That's possible."

The president regained his composure.

Having been surrounded by nothing but deranged Transcendents— the Saintess of Fate, the Patriot— he realized his own perception had skewed.

'Demon worshippers.'

Entities whose shadow hadn't even been found yet.

Shin Si-woo had commissioned this item to prepare for them.

That explanation was far more convincing.

"It was about time the world got at least one mentally sound Transcendent."

The president said this, and this time it was Kang Mu-jin who bristled.

"Shin Si-woo is mad in a different way."

"Do you know something?"

The mental issue Kang Mu-jin revealed about Shin Si-woo was quite unique.

"His capacity for romantic attraction has vanished? What's your basis?"

"You know my daughter Seol-a."

"Of course. A beauty that puts most celebrities to shame, isn't she?"

Kang Mu-jin had a fearsome face.

His wife, on the other hand, was a stunning beauty.

Fortunately, Kang Seol-a took entirely after her mother, as though her father's genes didn't exist.

"Five years."

"S-surely not?"

"That's how long Shin Si-woo has maintained his friendship with my daughter. Not once has there been any romantic progress."

Kang Mu-jin was certain.

"That's where he's broken."

From the president's perspective, it sounded like utter nonsense.

Yet the president believed it to be true.

'Hah......'

Kang Seol-a possessed a character that exceeded even her beauty, and a fire that surpassed even her father's— the man who'd stood against the Patriot.

The type who seemed destined for greatness.

The president, who'd known her since infancy, was well aware.

"Your daughter should just enter an arranged marriage with my son—."

"Mr. President. Genetics are a concern, so that won't do."

Kang Mu-jin said this while eyeing the president's barren scalp.

A joke only possible between two people this close.

"Is Shin Si-woo ordinary-looking? He's the only man who looks right standing next to my Seol-a. Plus he's an SSS-rank Hunter, a Transcendent, and his mental state is comparatively sound."

Kang Mu-jin launched into an unprompted boast about Shin Si-woo.

President Lee Seok-hyeon tilted his head.

'Is he saying my son is that terrible?'

That thought crossed his mind briefly, but Kang Mu-jin's fierce tone gradually revealed a different meaning.

This felt more like a father showing off a prospective son-in-law.

The fury of a father whose daughter had been taken, mixed with a reluctant acceptance.

"On top of all that, he's the one who'll keep the Patriot in check and give us— who are dying from our seven-day work weeks— a day off."

Within that boast ran a thick, deep undercurrent of rage.

Namely—.

'After making my daughter live alone for five years, you think I'll let you comfortably go meet other women?!!!'

The rage of a doting father with an only daughter.

Kang Mu-jin intended to show Shin Si-woo just how ruthless a father with a daughter could become.

"Does Seol-a have feelings?"

"I think she has since about five years ago, but that bastard has never once looked her way. At this point she says she's more comfortable as friends and has given up entirely."

"Hah—."

"Truly unfortunate."

Sighs piled upon sighs.

Right on cue, a secretary's aide came to announce Shin Si-woo's arrival.

The president called the Blue House workshop to place the fabrication order.

But then.......

—M-Mr. President. You're asking us to take 1kg of Mystery and make a mere bracelet out of it, not even a generator?

Naturally, the workshop chief was also a Hunter.

And a patriotic talent.

—This is a workshop that runs on Mystery. Why would we make something like an accessory......

A tone suggesting suspicion of presidential corruption.

To which the president quickly relayed the facts.

"It's a request from the second Transcendent, Mr. Shin Si-woo."

—......Understood.

A single word— 'Transcendent'— and the workshop chief had no choice but to accept.

—What's the deadline?

"Before 7 PM tonight."

—Before the Transcendent appointment ceremony?

"Yes. Once you receive the ingot, you'll need to begin work immediately."

The president gazed out the window.

Across the way, the workshop blazed with roaring flames.

The sight of the burning workshop stirred a sudden anxiety.

"But how exactly does he plan to handle the Jesus problem?"

"Shin Si-woo said something."

"What?"

"That if Jesus sees him, the guy might want to become sworn brothers."

A thoroughly cryptic remark.

"Surely he's not planning to defect—."

"No, he means don't worry."

To make such a bold claim even after hearing the saintess's prophecy.......

"How could ordinary men ever fathom the thoughts of Transcendents?"

* * *

The world of swords.

1st Sword, Reinhardt Euclid, made his move.

He opened the gate in his world that led inward.

The same gate the chilling demon had emerged from before.

CREEEAK——.

Tension gripped him, but the space beyond the gate put Reinhardt at ease.

Something about it shared his own temperament.

Reinhardt gazed at a woman sprawled in the corner.

"What transcendent divine power. You, too, must have walked the path of great deeds alongside the Master."

Resplendent golden hair and vividly gleaming golden eyes— a beautiful saintess.

She radiated the kind of noble elegance one might expect if the word 'divinity' had been sculpted into a person.

But her eyes were dead.

"You even add 'Master' to...... that monster?"

The dead-eyed holy sword asked the most noble righteous sword.

To which the knight bellowed.

"HALT!!!"

Reinhardt continued, his voice brimming with conviction.

"That demon passed through here and it's clear you've Fallen! How dare you speak of the Master—."

"That's genuine reverence, isn't it?"

The saintess looked at Reinhardt.

"My life was a lie. I followed the sword's commands and gained nothing."

As Reinhardt listened to the saintess's words, he narrowed his eyes.

He was trying to [assess] the 2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia.

He could feel it.

"You're a strange being whose divine power increases just from breathing."

"That's right. And in exchange, I had to live my entire life in solitude."

The saintess pleaded.

"Even with this beautiful face, even with a heart that loved the world, I achieved nothing because of the sword's will."

She had saved the world alone and died.

And was forgotten.

No one to remember her.

No children.

She had departed the world utterly alone.

She had spent her entire life doing nothing but following the sword's commands.

"I was nothing but a puppet to the Sword Master. Don't you feel any pity for me?"

But.......

Reinhardt simply looked at her with a gaze that said, 'Has this woman lost her mind?'

"It was you who desired power."

"But I didn't want it to go this way. I saved the world, killed every evil, and closed the Abyss. And yet—."

The saintess wept.

"I couldn't even experience a single romance before I was gone."

Watching her, Reinhardt delivered a pointed rebuke.

"To have obtained such omnipotent power and yet be in this state...... Tsk, how pitiful."

"How was it for you?"

The 2nd Sword, Yuria Lanestia, was suddenly curious.

How magnificent a life had this old man lived, to be able to praise the Sword Master to such a degree?

To which Reinhardt declared proudly.

"I was a mere commoner. And yet, the Master chose me, saying he saw a fragment of potential."

The old man's gaze reached toward the distant past.

A look of wistfulness, lost in memory.

He spoke.

"I wanted to avenge myself on the demon worshippers who annihilated my family. After that, I wanted to accomplish something great for the world."

"Grand dreams for a mere commoner."

"The Master made those dreams come true."

A mere commoner with a fragment of talent— Reinhardt.

"I devoted myself to training and witnessed the pinnacle of the sword alongside the Master. Everything you killed, I killed as well."

"How can training alone, with a mere fragment of talent, produce such growth?"

The saintess, too, had witnessed the sword's pinnacle.

Reinhardt's story was strange.

"The aura cultivation technique the Master taught me elevated my fragment of talent to the level of an ordinary man. From there, I grew strong."

"What kind of cultivation technique? Surely not a dark art......"

Reinhardt smirked.

"Juvenile Abstinence Cultivation. A rather special aura cultivation technique."

"I've never heard of it."

Reinhardt knew why.

Each sword had a different growth method.

A fact the Master had shared.

"In simple terms, it's a training method with the restriction that you must train alone your entire life without ever meeting someone of the opposite sex."

"A predicament similar to mine—."

"No, in my case, there was an additional sacrifice of a certain trivial function."

"A t-trivial function?"

The saintess was struck speechless.

"Thanks to that, I rose from a mere commoner to the savior of the world and claimed the throne of Sword Sovereign, the continent's mightiest."

The 1st Sword, Reinhardt, extended his hand to the 2nd Sword, Yuria, and spoke.

"I hear the Master's Transcendent appointment ceremony is being held soon. Won't you join me in witnessing that glorious sight?"