Chapter 48
Seong-Hwi and Lina talked for three hours straight—they were speaking casually with each other after having gotten close.
“I doubt other specialists will be like me since the specialization category is filled with exceptions,” Seong-Hwi remarked.
“Even so, the pattern I see in your blood is fascinating. How can a human’s mana pattern look like this? It’s similar to... the patterns of other races with secondary forces. It’s much more stable than normal human patterns,” Lina replied as she examined Seong-Hwi’s blood through the microscope eyepiece.
Seong-Hwi thought, That’s surprising. Did she discover traces of Destiny Force from just a few drops of blood?
He asked, “Have you examined the blood of other races?”
“Yeah, I bought some from Clan Black Market. It broke my Coin bank, but it was worth it.”
“Black Market, huh? Those are some sketchy people you’re doing business with.”
“They’re dangerous as enemies but loyal to their customers. I have no talent in combat, so I can’t get research specimens myself.”
Seong-Hwi nodded and asked, “What do you mainly research?”
“People—no, to be more specific, members of the race Human who were Lost to the Mirror World.”
“Then have you discovered why humans have such low stat calibers and no secondary force?”
“Easy. Because that’s just how we’ve evolved.” Lina looked away from the eyepiece to stare at Seong-Hwi and continued, “On Earth, humans can do things without mana or secondary forces. However, the dimensions that the other races are from required them to use mana and secondary force to survive.”
Her explanation was the same one she had told Seong-Hwi in their past life.
Seong-Hwi pretended it was his first time hearing it and answered, “That’s a neat way of thinking about it. Some people complain about why the unbiased and fair God would discriminate between races.”
Lina chuckled and asked, “Do you know the story of Cain and Abel?”
“From Genesis?”
“Yeah. The older brother, Cain, offered the Lord vegetation—the fruits of his labor—because he was a farmer, and his little brother, Abel, offered a lamb—the firstborn of his flock—because he was a shepherd. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s.”
“And so Cain murdered Abel out of jealousy.”
“People only focus on Cain killing Abel because it was the first murder, but isn’t it funny? He only killed Abel because of God’s discrimination.”
Seong-Hwi understood what Lina was trying to say. He remarked, “Are you trying to say God has never been fair?”
“To me, God is evolution. Evolution is never fair.”
Spoken like a true veterinary behaviorist, Seong-Hwi said inwardly.
Lina continued, “Our environment has changed. We’re no longer on Earth, so humans must evolve to the next level. If God wants lamb instead of vegetation, we have to become shepherds. If we stay satisfied with how things are... humanity will go extinct.”
Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone. It was time to bring out the true reason why he was here.
“Then how can we evolve? How can the human vessel expand? Do you know of a way to heighten one’s stat caliber quicker?”
Lina’s hand stopped as she was turning the adjustment dial of her microscope. She locked eyes with Seong-Hwi and asked, “Where did you get that idea?”
“Well, you know. The other races are born with high stat calibers, but humans have jack shit. We can heighten calibers by accomplishing feats, but it takes too long. It would be ideal if... There was a way to shorten that time exponentially.”
Lina sprang up from her chair, her eyes almost popping out of her sockets. “We... have the same thoughts. You’re right. The caliber of stats in the Mirror World lies in superior genes.”
She walked toward a bookshelf and looked for something, the sound of glass hitting each other echoing throughout the room. She then pulled out a glass vial roughly two fingers long, a third filled with a red liquid. Seong-Hwi’s eyes shone.
I knew she was already in the process of making it!
The contents of that vial were what Seong-Hwi was here for.
“Do you know what this is?” Lina asked.
“No idea,” Seong-Hwi pretended.
Lina continued, “It’s the fruit of my three-year research. Wanna see?”
Lina handed Seong-Hwi the glass vial. An Akasha Message reacted to the vial once Seong-Hwi accepted it.
[Inferior Orc Gene (Consumable Item)
Rank: F
Description: An inferior gene extracted from the serum of the race Orc. It is an incomplete extract of genes encoding information about stats, secondary force, and the like of the race Orc.]
“It turned into an item?”
There were two types of blacksmiths—regular blacksmiths who made ordinary swords by forging iron, and special blacksmiths who made special swords that turned into items after being acknowledged by the Akasha. Such blacksmiths were known as artisans, desired by every clan. Although their field of expertise was different, Lina was already an artisan.
“I barely extracted that after almost a thousand trials. To be honest, I was lucky because I got the serum of an orc Semi Ranker from Black Market.”
“What are you going to do with this?”
Lina took back the vial and answered, “Isn’t it obvious? To forcibly heighten stat caliber. Grafting the genes of other races onto human genes to steal their evolutionary traits.”
Lina had researched how the low caliber of humans could be forcibly evolved, also known as the Ubermensch Project.
Seong-Hwi calmed his pounding heart and asked, “But... why are you telling me this?”
Lina opened the vial and sucked out a small amount of the liquid with the syringe on the table.
She answered, “The research has been hitting a wall lately. I couldn’t think of a way to overcome it, so I needed something that could break the wall.”
She then grabbed the knife and sliced her finger. Her blood fell on the table, and she placed a drop of the red liquid on the blood. Lina’s blood on the table evaporated instantly, leaving only the orc gene.
“Did you see that? The genes destroy those inferior to it. This is the result despite orcs being classified as an inferior race, like humans. If this were injected in a human, they would die in seconds.”
Lina then dropped the orc gene on Seong-Hwi’s blood. The response was slightly different this time—Seong-Hwi’s blood did not evaporate instantly and mixed with the gene. However, the two genes clashed against each other, and both evaporated.
“I knew it! A well-balanced mana pattern can last longer!” Lina shouted excitedly but shook her head soon after and said slightly dejectedly, “But it’s not enough... the two genes need more time to mix.”
“What just happened?” Seong-Hwi asked.
“It was a form of rejection. The immune system detected the foreign substance and attacked it. I need an immunosuppressant. Only that will make the slow fusion possible,” Lina mumbled endlessly.
I have no idea what she’s saying, but I’ve fortunately heard it before. In any case, there’s only one thing I remember.
Seong-Hwi recalled his conversation with Lina in his past life.
“It’s such a shame. If only you had come to me with the Ancient Fairy Queen’s Wings around five years ago.”
“Ancient Fairy Queen’s Wings? Oh, you’re referring to the dungeon artifact from the recently discovered second-zone dungeon. I heard the dragons took it.”
“Yeah, that. Any chance you could get it?”
“Hah! You know how greedy they are. Once dragons get their hands on anything, it’s over. There’s no way I can get them. What do you need them for?”
“If I’m correct, that artifact could be the key to the Ubermensch Project I had given up on long ago. It can serve as an immunosuppressant.”
“Immunosuppressant?”
“Yeah. I doubt I could forcibly heighten the caliber of all humans with them, but I could have at least tried to heighten yours since you’re a match.”
Seong-Hwi thought, Lina said she could rapidly heighten my caliber if she had the Ancient Fairy Queen’s Wings.
It was the only information Seong-Hwi remembered—the Ubermensch Project’s sliver of possibility.
Lina said, “I need your help. There was a rejection, but you’re the first one whose blood has lasted this long. If I can better extract the genes of other races and reduce errors... it might be possible.”
Seong-Hwi clenched his fist under the table, but did not show excitement.
He asked calmly, “Is that the pruning you can do for me? Will my branches grow toward the sun if that research succeeds?”
Lina answered confidently, “Of course. I swear in the name of Lina Ahn. If this research succeeds, you will become a Ranker within three years.”
Seong-Hwi smiled and extended his hand. “My name is Cheon Seong-Hwi. I’ll be in your care.”
Lina also smiled and grabbed Seong-Hwi’s hand. “As I’ve said, I’m Lina Ahn.”
Seong-Hwi said as they shook hands, “Just some corrections.”
“What?”
“Three years is too long, and I won’t be satisfied with stopping at a Ranker.”
“Three years is already conservative, even if you obtain an immunosuppressant. And you won’t be satisfied as a Ranker? Are you aiming to be a High Ranker?” Lina asked exasperatedly.
Seong-Hwi shook his head and answered, “No. I want to become one of the Ten Lords and Fiends first. My goal isn’t to catch up to the superior races but to surpass them.”
***
Three weeks flew by as Seong-Hwi hunted Metal Warriors to earn Karma and Coins and helped Lina with her research.
I’ve collected around 150,000 Karma and 200,000 Coins. It’s about time I stopped hunting Metal Warriors. The Karma I’m getting from them is going down, and Blue Anvil is no longer buying their os.
He did not find it disappointing since he had earned more than he expected in the past month. It was weird that he even managed to earn this much Karma and Coins—one could only hope for such profits when they were at least a C-rank human.
Although Chaya assisted him, he hunted the Metal Warriors alone and earned Coins by trading with Blue Anvil. Normal humans would have recruited people for a party based on their positions to hunt as safely as possible, but Seong-Hwi could fill every position. On top of that, his Destiny Force stat, powerful unique skills, and the S-rank potential skill Rust of Ruin worked so well with one another that he had no difficulty hunting the Metal Warriors.
It’s about time I opened some cubes—
“Hey, are you listening to me?” someone said, interrupting Seong-Hwi’s thoughts.
Seong-Hwi turned to the voice. He had been talking to the brown-haired white man, Dan, the owner of the Lodi Hotel, as he leaned on the counter.
“I am. You asked why I’m not buying any items,” Seong-Hwi answered.
“Yeah. I know you’re not an escaper since you stayed in this hotel for a month, so what’s with your getup?”
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Are you seriously asking that?” Dan scanned Seong-Hwi in black combat boots, army green cargo pants, and a plain black T-shirt. “You’re not hunting Chaos in that, are you?”
Seong-Hwi shrugged.
Dan shook his head and continued, “I don’t know if you’re crazy or extraordinarily skilled. Even if you’re confident in your Health stat, you should at least wear some armor. Do you even have items?”
Seong-Hwi pulled his Shaco Knife out from his back and said, “I have this.”
“Hah! The chipped Shaco Knife?”
Seong-Hwi stared at the Shaco Knife. As Dan mentioned, the edge of the brass knife had several chips on it. Even though his main weapon was the symbols embodied by his unique skill, Symbol Embodiment, he used the Shaco Knife whenever necessary. The chips were likely formed during those situations. Seong-Hwi sheathed the Shaco Knife.
Dan said, “See? It’s not good to save too many Coins. Use them when you need to.”
Seong-Hwi was not excessively saving on purpose—it was just that regular items did not catch his attention, and he did not even need them.
I’ve earned enough Coins. Should I get some new gear? Seong-Hwi wondered as he stared at his clothes.
He had bought the pants and shirt from a random store, and his shoes were from Earth. He lifted his foot to look at the soles of his boots. They were so worn that the treads were almost gone.
Yeah, this won’t do.
They were comfortable boots since they were made with Gore-Tex fabric, but the time had come to replace them.
“Items are important. They’re the only thing from cubes you can trade. I know they’re expensive, but—”
Seong-Hwi decided to go to the item market as he listened to Dan’s rambling.
Come to think of it, I haven’t paid any attention to Chaya’s gear either. I suppose I’ve been too—hm?
Just then, five men came down from upstairs and walked out of the hotel. Seong-Hwi stared at their backs until they left the building.
“Dan,” Seong-Hwi called.
“Hm? What’s up?”
“Who were those people who just passed us?”
“What do you mean? They’re customers. They checked in this morning after you left. There were fifteen more like them. I haven’t had customers in bulk like this in a while.”
Seong-Hwi laughed inwardly and thought, They’re finally here!
This was why Seong-Hwi had stayed at the Lodi Hotel in Middle Earth instead of all other hotels. The investigations after the Edu attack in his past life revealed that one of the attacker groups had stayed in the Lodi Hotel.
These damn traffickers have finally crawled out of their hole!
Two days were left until the attack on Edu.