Chapter 92 – Clue

Minju and Siwoo stood close to each other, as if it were no big deal.

It was only natural that Oh Yuhyeon’s expression soured as he watched them. However, this was only the beginning.

First, Minju’s expression darkened upon seeing Oh Yuhyeon.

Seeing this, Yuhyeon felt as if his heart were being ripped apart.

Then, Minju spoke.

“Siwoo… I’ll head home first.”

‘Th-they live together?!’

Unlike Yuhyeon, whose eyes widened in shock, Siwoo remained composed.

“Ah, you want to?”

“Yeah… I have to prepare for the wedding, too.”

‘Prepare for a wedding?!’

Of course, the wedding they were preparing for was Choi Yongjin’s, not their own, but there was no way Yuhyeon would know that. Every word from Minju’s mouth carved a rift into Yuhyeon’s heart.

‘Ah… they’ve already become that kind of couple…….’

A wedding, held regardless of the world coming to an end. How romantic. Yuhyeon’s heart seethed.

But even in the midst of that—.

“I’m going then!”

Swoosh— Pat!

Minju vanished.

Only Siwoo remained, and he spoke.

“Right, Yuhyeon. How have you been?”

“…….”

“I have a lot I want to ask.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

It was the moment the conversation between two pro gamers began.

* * *

I quietly looked at Oh Yuhyeon. He was one of the very few people I had known for a long time who had become a Villain.

In other words, this was a rare opportunity to converse with a Villain.

‘I can’t let this opportunity slip away.’

I questioned him.

“Since when did you become a Villain?”

But for some reason, he was still seething.

“Mi-Minju… just what is your relationship… what on earth… what happened between you two all this time…….”

Apparently, he had no intention of having a productive conversation.

With a sigh, I asked once more.

“I’ll ask again. Since when did you become a Villain?”

At my question, he glared at me as if provoked.

Then, he surged his mana—.

Fwaaaaah—

“Like I give a damn!”

He immediately summoned a bolt of lightning and dropped it right on top of my head.

KABOOM!

As the explosion echoed throughout the city, Yuhyeon shouted in excitement.

“D-did I get him?”

But that was impossible.

That lightning was blocked by the thick Mana Barrier surrounding me… it couldn’t even leave a scratch.

The Emitter floating nearby had activated.

As the dust surrounding the area settled—.

“Well… I might need to discipline him a bit.”

I grinned.

* * *

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

Lightning continued to flash on the rooftop of the Peace Hotel.

Bolts of lightning kept falling on my head.

“Why, why! Why! Why isn’t it hitting!”

“Yuhyeon, do you feel like talking now?”

“Aaaaaagh!”

KABOOM!

Oh Yuhyeon continued to struggle desperately. He kept dropping lightning, looking at me—completely unscathed—as if I were some kind of Monster.

“Sigh… I told you it’s useless.”

I had hoped his mind would be a bit more lucid so I could ask my questions, but it seemed some corporal punishment was necessary.

I briefly estimated the required mana quantity in my head.

‘How long should I freeze him for…….’

The amount of mana I operated with had already increased several times over since the Baengnokdam incident.

If I froze his equipment for 0.2 seconds like last time, Oh Yuhyeon might vanish without a trace, just like the Baengnokdam Monster.

Of course, I would get the Electric Mana Stone that way, but…….

Then there would be no reason for me to have come all this way.

‘0.01 seconds should be enough, right?’

I decided to start small.

Trek— Tick!

The moment all my machines flickered for a split second.

Paaaaang!

A significant amount of mana began to pool around me.

I gathered that mana in my right hand—.

SLAP!

I delivered a slap across his cheek.

As a massive amount of mana flowed, a sonic boom erupted, far louder and clearer than his thunder.

KABOOM!

Due to the immense impact that clouded his consciousness, he bounced away like a flat skipping stone thrown across a river.

Thud— Bang— Crash—

After bouncing several times, he lay sprawled on the ground…….

Oh Yuhyeon looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

“Y-your ability wasn’t just machines?”

“Are you awake now?”

“Th-this is unfair. Too unfair.”

Yuhyeon shook his head in terror.

“Whew…….”

It was a sight that naturally drew a sigh.

“Want another one?”

He began to shake his head even faster.

* * *

A vast number of machines are all controlled through my mana. In other words, in terms of mana quantity alone, it meant I had accumulated power rivaling My Legion.

Of course, since I am not a physical Ability User, my mana efficiency is extremely low. I couldn’t clash directly with My Legion.

To put it bluntly, even that monstrous Aerial Mothership now only occupied a tiny fraction of my total mana quantity.

The only difference was whether I channeled that power into the Legion or wrapped it around my own body. Even then, as long as I used mana in short bursts rather than overdoing it like last time, it didn’t put much strain on my body.

Of course, I didn’t use only my body.

SLAP!

Once with a slap.

KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!

Next, an artillery barrage from the Magitech Artillery Unit.

Screeeech!

Then, a concentrated strike from the Interceptor.

Then, back to the slap.

SLAP!

Yuhyeon struggled desperately in the meantime…….

Zzap— Boom— Zzap—

“Please hit me! Pleaaaase!”

To me, it didn’t even feel like a prick.

“Yuhyeon… there are no bugs to exploit in reality.”

Thus, I easily subdued Oh Yuhyeon.

* * *

Oh Yuhyeon’s body was bloodied and damaged to the point where it was half-unrecognizable. Even so, it kept wriggling, trying to regenerate.

“Yuhyeon, I’ll ask one more time. Just nod.”

Nod.

“Since when did you become a Villain?”

“Almost immediately after the Situation broke out…….”

“What are the conditions for becoming a Villain?”

It was then, as I asked, that a small spark of life returned to Oh Yuhyeon’s eyes, which had been filled with fear until now.

“W-we are humans chosen by those beings! Unlike someone like you.”

“Who are they?”

“Th-th-those beings are transcendent existences who travel and occupy all dimensions. They are beings that someone like you could never even approach.”

“Why would such beings attack Earth?”

“Why would there be a reason to attack something like Earth? There was empty land, so they attacked to occupy it; it’s as simple as that. There was the anomaly of Awakening, but in the end, it was only a matter of time.”

Oh Yuhyeon laughed grotesquely.

I decided to press further with my questions. It was because he was breathing heavily, as if his core was overheating.

“What do I have to do to meet them?”

“Even if you don’t hurry… those beings are scheduled to come someday for the Harvest.”

“What is the Harvest?”

“I… cannot… answer…….”

“I see…….”

It was while I was deep in thought, chewing over the conversation. Oh Yuhyeon, thinking this was his chance, asked me with trembling eyes.

“By any chance… do you really live with Minju?”

“Yeah.”

At my answer, his expression looked as if he had lost the entire world.

Trembling violently, he…….

K-BOOM!

Eventually, with a powerful impact, his core exploded.

“Is he dead…….”

I looked down at his corpse, which no longer regenerated.

If he hadn’t been a Villain, he might have ended up under My Faction.

No matter how many people like Seongjae there were, an Electricity User is useful. Especially since he was of a considerably high rank.

‘What would have happened if that were the case?’

He was famous among pro gamers for having a bad personality from the start. Perhaps that was why he became a Villain. Or perhaps it was a relief that he was one.

‘Well… that’s just a hypothetical.’

I pushed aside the various thoughts rising in my mind. In the end, he was just an acquaintance. The fact that he was an enemy of humanity remained unchanged.

‘Still, there was a decent harvest this time…….’

Reviewing the conversation, I located his Electric Mana Stone.

* * *

The information obtained from the conversation with Oh Yuhyeon was as follows:

One. There is something that oversees the Monsters.

They seemed to be trans-dimensional beings that expand their territory by traveling through various dimensions.

Two. Those beings will come to perform a ‘Harvest.’

I don’t know when that will be, but that will surely be the chance to suppress them.

Three. Our abilities are unrelated to them.

Since abilities began to awaken as the Monsters appeared, I thought there might be a connection. However, it seemed that our manifestation of abilities was an anomaly even to them.

‘Indeed, it would be logically strange for them to give us weapons while trying to invade us…….’

It was simply a case of coincidence.

‘Then what on earth is Ability Awakening…….’

Still a mystery.

But of course, I knew that at least regarding my own ability, I could find answers by further recovering the Essence of Forgotten Knowledge.

‘I wonder if that could be a hint…….’

It might seem like nothing, but I might find a clue to becoming even stronger through an understanding of abilities.

Or I might find a way to end this Situation through an understanding of the Monsters. For example, ‘What happens to the Monsters if those who come to harvest are killed?’

‘I need to clean up the South quickly and begin the Northern Advance…….’

I don’t know how strong those things are. Therefore, I wanted to recover all the Forgotten Knowledge before they arrive on Earth.

Thus, I set a new goal and cleared Gwangju.

‘The amount of supplies is incredible.’

Perhaps because it was where the Villain Oh Yuhyeon had established himself, most of the decent supplies remained.

I couldn’t use them all myself. Since I couldn’t just leave them, I decided to sell them to Gwak Jaeyong and the Merchant Guild in exchange for Worker Bug Coins…….

Since they were factions under my command, I didn’t sell them at an exorbitant price, yet such a massive amount of Worker Bug Coins were recovered that I worried about deflation.

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily bad. In other words, it meant I had more room to release money later.

Also, I happened to plan on spending a huge amount of money before the next Northern Advance. It worked out well.

Meanwhile, Gwangju wasn’t the only place incorporated into the faction.

Choi Yongjin, having finished cleaning up Gangwon-do, also incorporated small cities like Nonsan, Jeonju, and Gunsan, which had been under the sphere of influence of the Daejeon Bureaucrats.

Meanwhile, as rumors spread that Nonsan had fallen into our sphere of influence.

Seongjae rushed to find me.

“Siwoo! Siwoo!”

“What now.”

“I heard you took Nonsan?”

“Yeah.”

“Lend me an Artillery Unit! Or at least an Assault Cannon!”

“…What are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to blow up the Nonsan Training Center!”

…Apparently, he had a lot of pent-up frustration.

However, the facilities of the Nonsan Training Center could be useful to us. I could not tolerate such an explosion.

“Absolutely not.”

I wrestled with Seongjae for a while as he clung to my pant leg, before finally changing the subject.

“So where are we going next?”

“Hmm… the next target…….”

Actually, there wasn’t much to think about now.

“Busan. Only Busan is left.”

It was time to put a period to the cleanup of the South.

Of course, before that—

“I’ll research this too.”

The Electrical Upgrade took priority.