Chapter 77

The basic principle of negotiation is to gain an advantage over the other party.

To do that, you must know exactly what they want.

Bergman wants Advanced Magic.

Once you know what they want, you must find out why they need it.

Only then is a favorable deal possible.

That’s why I have my doubts.

Yeo Ju-kyung, one of the Three Sovereigns, is S-Rank or higher. To give her an arbitrary designation, you could call her SS-Rank.

And Ingrid Bergman, sitting before me, is an S-Rank on the verge of becoming SS-Rank.

He may be below Yeo Ju-kyung, but he is a powerhouse befitting his renowned title as one of the Three Sovereigns.

But that’s according to the System’s standards.

In terms of magic alone, he’s merely at a level where he has just mastered intermediate magic.

So why is someone like that so desperately searching for Advanced Magic, which is only A-Rank by the System’s standards?

Is it because of the maniacal hobby of collecting Ian’s Traces, whom they call ‘that person’?

That’s not enough of an explanation.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind.”

My train of thought was broken.

“Why, are you having second thoughts about handing over the Advanced Grimoire?”

“No, sir. I just have a question I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you learning magic?”

Bergman looked surprised.

Was it an uncomfortable question to answer?

“My apologies if I was rude.”

“It’s not that. I’m just surprised you didn’t know. Then again, you did say your System Rank was F-Rank, didn’t you?”

That would make sense, Bergman muttered, then opened his palm. A flame blossomed above his open hand.

Fwoosh-

“This is a Skill. There’s no need for principles. Like a game character, you can manifest it with will alone.”

The next moment, the flame floating on his palm grew fiercer.

“And this is magic. You have to gather Mana at your fingertips, convert that energy into fire, and be able to sustain it. It’s extremely tricky.”

But its power would be incomparable to a Skill.

He held out his other hand.

Another flame was created there.

It was the same size as the one made with magic.

“And this is when you use a Skill after understanding the principles of fire magic.”

My curiosity was satisfied.

Using a Skill after understanding its operating principles increases its power accordingly.

“Forty years. For forty years, I have searched for his traces and learned magic.”

A strong desire was poured into the old monk’s quiet voice.

I now knew for sure why he was so desperately seeking magic.

I stood up and opened a drawer.

I took out two books from it.

Volumes 1 and 2 of Saint Dragorin Ian’s Advanced Magic Compendium.

The old monk’s face brightened instantly.

His old, wrinkled eyes blazed with greed.

So he can make a face like that.

In the media, he always wore an expression of being detached from worldly matters, so this is a bit new.

He spoke with an impatient look on his face.

“Can you undo the Seal?”

“Of course.”

With a thwack, the Seal enveloping the books shattered.

Bergman stared at me with wide eyes.

“…So what Mahinda said was true. How long have you been learning magic?”

“A little less than half a year.”

A sense of futility colored Bergman’s face.

But it was only for a moment.

His gaze once again seized by desire, he bowed his head.

“…May I take a look?”

Having received permission, Bergman turned the pages one by one with a trembling hand.

Ssk- ssk- shk-

The sound of pages turning grew faster and faster.

Accordingly, Bergman’s face hardened.

“Is something wrong?”

I asked, feigning ignorance.

The expected reaction came flying back.

“You’ve learned all the magic in here, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“How long did it take?”

“About half a day.”

“…Half a day.”

Muttering as if groaning, he closed his eyes.

He looked thoroughly shocked.

Without opening his eyes, he spoke slowly.

“Incredible. Both his magic, and you.”

The old monk rose from his seat.

His expression had changed.

The face that had been riddled with greed just moments ago now looked as if it had not a single lingering attachment.

No. That’s closer to resignation.

Bergman closed the grimoire and tapped it twice.

“I’ll consider this received. Don’t worry. I’ll mention your name to the President tomorrow.”

He opened his mouth.

“Just once. Whatever it may be, I will not refuse a request from your country.”

“Is that all?”

Bergman looked at me. The light in his eyes had long since cooled.

“The person who came last time said so. The staff he used, the books. That the Oracle has a great many of them.”

“If you wish for them, I can give them to you.”

He said in a calm, subdued voice.

“Choose. Do you wish to receive our help, or do you wish for the traces that came from another dimension?”

The chance to command eight S-Rank masters, and an Item from another world.

Which is more profitable?

I don’t know.

So I told him to give me both.

“Please give me both.”

“…Youth is a fine thing.”

“I’m not saying I’ll take them for free. I want to make a deal with the Oracle.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

He walked toward the door.

“I will teach you Advanced Magic.”

Bergman, who was about to leave, flinched to a halt.

As an Awakener, Ingrid Bergman is a master on the verge of reaching SS-Rank.

But if he had been born in that other world, he would not have been able to become an Advanced Mage.

Bergman must have realized it the moment he saw the Advanced Grimoire.

That this was the limit of his talent.

“You must have heard of it. The Awakener who raises Potential Rank.”

It was spread to the media, spread on the communities. The Association’s PR department had made such a fuss that there was no way he wouldn’t know.

As if remembering, Bergman’s expression turned peculiar.

Before he could ask anything, I cast a spell first.

[Precise Blessing]

The Buff Magic that raises the Soul’s Tier flew toward Bergman. He did not refuse it.

“What’s… different?”

The look of faint expectation on his face cooled once again.

I opened the grimoire that had been left on the table.

“Please read it.”

Bergman stood still with a dubious look on his face.

You want me to experience that sense of defeat I felt earlier again?

That’s the look he had.

I forcibly placed the grimoire in his hand.

“I get it. I get it.”

As if he had no choice, Bergman began to read the grimoire.

Soon, his eyes slowly widened.

The old monk sat back down in the chair as if possessed.

Even then, his gaze was still fixed on the grimoire.

“This. This is…”

Ingrid Bergman felt as if his blurry vision had become clear.

Concepts that had been incomprehensible just moments ago, ambiguous sentences in the grimoire, were now read with ease.

Suddenly.

The old monk felt a thirst.

He wasn’t actually thirsty. But this was worse than that.

It was a reaction from his Soul.

It couldn’t be helped. The short Buff time had ended, and his clear vision had become blurry again.

The old monk licked his dry lips and asked.

“A little more….”

The young man, Choi Gi-woong, was just smiling and looking at him.

Bergman understood what that meant.

He shot to his feet and took out every asset he had, that the Oracle had.

Swoosh-

The things that had been sleeping in a subspace began to spread across the floor.

Choi Gi-woong slowly looked them over.

Bergman felt his lips go dry.

His heart, over 90 years old, pounded like it did in its prime.

Having had a taste of the Buff Magic, he couldn’t help it.

A threat?

As long as Yeo Ju-kyung was alive, that was impossible.

Therefore, the initiative had completely passed to Choi Gi-woong.

But Choi Gi-woong, who should have been pleased, had a strange expression on his face.

“Is this by any chance all of it?”

“…Is there nothing, to your liking?”

Something to my liking, huh.

Choi Gi-woong felt a sense of futility.

‘This is a grimoire written by a 7th Circle Mage I taught long ago. He copied it verbatim.’

‘This is a Beginner Grimoire from the Eastern Mage Tower.’

‘The staff is A-Rank at best.’

Most of it was useless.

What I was most curious about.

There were no clues about Ian.

I thought there might be a Volume 3 of the Advanced Magic Compendium, or a diary, or at least some kind of record.

But all the remaining records were limited to before he met the Dragon.

‘Not this stuff.’

I was hoping for at least the sword used by the Northern Grand Duke.

There was nothing even similar.

The things here would only be baggage if I took them.

Feeling disappointed, Choi Gi-woong was about to make a different proposal.

Just then, one of the objects scattered on the floor caught his eye.

It was a ring.

The Mana within it was so low that I almost overlooked it.

No, to be precise, it was deliberately concealing its presence.

“I want that.”

“This? I doubt you’ll have much use for it.”

Bergman picked up the ring with a reluctant face.

He slowly read the Continental Common Language engraved on it.

“Durandal? This has almost no Mana in it…. In terms of Item Rank, isn’t it F-Rank?”

Choi Gi-woong smiled without answering.

Then, as if he had just thought of it, he said.

“May I ask for one more favor?”

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Seong Yo-han.”

Seong Yo-han had a strange feeling.

A feeling that the monks belonging to the Oracle were being particularly favorable to the people from the Association.

“We’d like the Association to take charge of today’s schedule.”

“Can we tour the Korean Awakener Association?”

“We hope to maintain a good relationship with the Korean Awakener Association in the future.”

Strangely enough, the Oracle was acting friendly toward the Association.

‘Just why?’

He didn’t know the reason, but it was a good sign.

Seong Yo-han’s name, who was in charge of escorting the Oracle as the Association’s representative, began to buzz in the media.

[Oracle Monks Show Off Their Closeness with Seong Yo-han.]

[K-Awakening, Does It Work Overseas Too?]

[Oracle, Who Refused Blue House Escort, Instead Asks the Association. Is Seong Yo-han Behind It?]

“They’re probably not being friendly just because it’s the Association.”

The one who said that was Seong Yo-han’s right-hand man.

“When he came to Korea a while ago, that Mahinda guy completely passed over Choi Gi-woong. Said he had something urgent to do.”

“…Really? What’s he up to now?”

“Probably acting all cool while training the kids. The media’s been quiet about him lately, too. With all this talk about signing a contract with the Oracle, would something like that even catch his eye?”

Seong Yo-han chuckled and scanned the comments on the article.

-Is Seong Yo-han about to do something big?

-The. Great. Yo. Han. Even the US couldn’t get a seat at the negotiation table with the Oracle. He’s pulling it off.

-Let’s get their help and wipe out Jeju Island.

-But where’s Choi Gi-woong? If he tagged along and hyped things up, the effect would be doubled.

-Ah, Choi-dogs, please learn when to butt in and when not to… All the S-Rank Awakeners got kicked out and it’s just Seong Yo-han’s stage, and you’re talking about who?

-Sorry to interrupt, but our Gi-woong is definitely not world class.

-So is Choi Gi-woong S-Rank?

Looking through the articles, Seong Yo-han let out a smirk.

He felt as if a month’s worth of indigestion had been completely cleared away.

On the last day of the official schedule.

One of the ruling party’s assemblymen tightly grasped Seong Yo-han’s hand.

“Agent. I’m begging you. If this succeeds…”

Everyone who had usually been so stiff had changed their attitude.

Seong Yo-han smiled leisurely and nodded.

“I will do my best.”

He said that, but he was confident.

The atmosphere had been good, and he had sufficiently greased the wheels with the Oracle.

Give what’s appropriate to give, get what’s to be gotten.

At this rate, he would probably be able to secure the contract with ease….

“Unfortunately, it seems a deal with the Republic of Korea will be impossible.”

Ingrid Bergman, who was reviewing the contract, said firmly.

Cracks appeared on the faces of the people who had been sitting in anticipation.

“Is there a part you are not satisfied with?”

The Republic of Korea would provide financial support to the Oracle, and the Oracle would provide military support when the Republic of Korea needed it.

Wasn’t it a mutually beneficial contract?

They had refused when the United States offered a similar contract, but the situation was different now.

Above all, the Oracle side had a very favorable view of the Republic of Korea…

“I am satisfied. But as I said, it is impossible to sign a treaty.”

Suddenly, Bergman smiled.

“It’s because I’ve decided to make a personal contract with someone.”

“……?”

“With Mr. Choi.”

Mr. Choi?

“I mean Mr. Choi Gi-woong. From the Association.”