Chapter 44 – Stage Preparation

Upon entering the black market, the unique atmosphere of the market—a mix of its characteristic liveliness and the gloomy, ghostly aura of the underworld—greeted Lee Hanseong and his companions.

Their appearances, as before, had transformed into those of Myogaek, Gapjang, and Jigwi.

“What’s the plan now?”

Jigwi asked.

“Let’s move to the outskirts first.”

“Right, fighting here would make it everyone’s problem, not just ours.”

While they had chosen the black market as the stage to deal with the moths, it was best to avoid involving the market’s customers, especially since its owner was Jin Taeseong.

Kyaaaak!

A wind resembling a ghost’s wail blew.

As they moved towards the outskirts, the market’s liveliness waned, and the atmosphere grew increasingly gloomy.

This was because the black market grew closer to the underworld the further one went from its center.

Thud, thud.

“Stop. It’s dangerous to go any further.”

Using Hyu’s <Interface Perception> to confirm the boundary between the black market and the complete underworld, he stopped his friends.

If they went further like this, they might never be able to return to their human forms from their ghostly appearances.

For this reason, the black market did not recommend customers move to the outer zones.

If problems arose from going to the outskirts, the rule was to blame the customer entirely.

“It’s best to welcome them here.”

“Indeed, anyone who comes this far wouldn’t be here without knowing something.”

However, even in the outskirts, there were not completely no ghosts coming and going.

Ghosts who had come to the black market from the underworld from the start could freely cross the boundary between the black market and the underworld.

Seizing a moment when no ghosts were passing by, Hyu activated his First Awakening Skill.

Zzzing.

He opened a subspace that transformed into the Reverse World.

“Come in.”

Thud.

“Huh? Our appearances…?”

Upon entering the Reverse World, the appearances of the three ghosts had already reverted to their original forms.

“This place is inside the black market, but it’s not the black market.”

Hyu’s Reverse World blocked even the laws of the black market that spanned the living world and the underworld, so the law maintaining their ghostly forms no longer applied.

“You’ve come, Master.”

Furthermore, Lycan was waiting inside the Reverse World.

It seemed he had been training the power of the Silver Werewolf, as his fur was covered in a pale frost.

“How’s the newly changed Reverse World?”

“Back when it was a subspace, I just had to sleep, but now I can move around inside, so it’s good. So, have you come to feed me?”

Seeing Lycan drooling from the corner of his mouth, he realized that after the Reverse World changed, he hadn’t stocked any food.

Actually, when they had transformed into ghostly forms in the black market, there was no need to eat anything, so he hadn’t brought any food either.

To utilize the Reverse World, he would need to stock food and water.

“Hmm. …Will this work?”

Whoong.

First, he tried to see if he could change the entrance to the Reverse World, unfolded by Hyu’s Second Awakening Skill 《Spatial Connection》, from the black market to the Guild House outside.

Tracing the faint connection point with Jin Yuseong through Synergy, he found the interface connected to him.

“Is it here…?”

Whoosh.

As he strengthened the connection of the interface where Jin Yuseong’s connection point reacted, the light of the faint connection point brightened.

Tap. He touched the light point to check on Jin Yuseong’s situation.

Jin Yuseong, who had remained at the Guild House, had let in those who came seeking the Heavenly Demon Medallion and was showing them that there were no other guild members inside.

“Yuseong is having a hard time too.”

The uninvited guests, having confirmed with various detection and perception skills that there were no hidden presences, left the Guild House grumbling with only verbal apologies.

No, they only pretended to leave and hid near the Guild House.

Their intention to wait for him, who possessed the Heavenly Demon Medallion, was transparent.

Worried about the watchers’ gaze, Lee Hanseong opened a tiny passage in the shadow of Jin Yuseong’s collar and extended a Black shadow envoy.

Perhaps because the Black Shadow Manipulation Art of the breastplate was of the same lineage as the Black shadow envoy, controlling it was much easier than when Hyu was Spirit Possessed.

Swoosh.

“Yuseong, it’s Hanseong. Just listen quietly for now.”

Using the Black shadow envoy like a real phone to convey his voice, Jin Yuseong flinched but then feigned composure.

“Can you gather some food and water? Enough for four people to last about a month. Simple cooking utensils and tableware too.”

Upon hearing the request, Jin Yuseong touched the Black shadow envoy connected to him with his own Black Shadow Manipulation Art and quietly conveyed his voice back.

-It should be possible if I ask a friend of my father’s. But how will you take the gathered items?

“If you leave them in a place without surveillance, I’ll open a passage using you as a medium to take them.”

-Another new ability? You really have no end, no matter how much I dig.

“Please do it as soon as possible.”

-Got it. Just leave it to me.

After finishing the secret conversation, Lee Hanseong closed the passage connected to Jin Yuseong, leaving only the connection, and turned his attention back to the other companions.

The two were touring the Shelter in the Reverse World under Lycan’s guidance.

Resembling the structure of Hyu’s Shelter, the Shelter in the Reverse World was structured around a huge circular open space in the center, with rooms attached in all directions.

“Let’s each take a room for personal matters and stay there, and otherwise, let’s gather in the center and stay together as much as possible.”

“We have to endure here for a month? Not being able to wash is a bit…”

“You have the <Cleansing> Skill, right? We can manage with that.”

“Ah, right. True.”

Yu Sehee, who hadn’t yet felt the effect of the Cleansing Skill since the integration of similar skills through Synergy, tested the Cleansing Skill herself.

Paaah.

Satisfied with her now fluffy clothes and skin, she smiled and nodded.

“This much, and with just food, living should be sufficient.”

“But I don’t plan to just hide here.”

As long as there was a possibility that someone among the High-Rank Awakeners might invade the Reverse World with a special ability, they had to keep moving outside and divert their attention.

However, that didn’t necessarily mean they had to move personally.

“There are two main points we need to keep in mind regarding the trial of the Heavenly Demon Medallion.”

The first was that the owner must always carry the Heavenly Demon Medallion.

Since the one-month trial period only decreases when the Heavenly Demon Medallion is in the owner’s hand, separating it would only lengthen the overall trial period.

But this was the same even if a clone or puppet held it instead of the main body. There was a way to bypass it by having them carry it instead.

The second was the daily renewal of the Heavenly Demon Medallion’s location disclosure.

The first location disclosure was at the Guild House where they first received the Heavenly Demon Medallion from Jang Wei.

The next location disclosure time was tomorrow.

Of course, since the black market or the Reverse World, while connected to reality, were clearly different spaces, the exact location wouldn’t be disclosed.

However, such location disclosures typically included magical or sorcerous coordinate revelations.

There was a high possibility that the coordinates of the Reverse World could be revealed through divination or special tracking skills.

Fortunately, when it wasn’t the location disclosure time, the Heavenly Demon Medallion itself was sealed, so it couldn’t be targeted for tracking or divination at other times.

“Anyway, as long as this location disclosure continues, we have no choice but to be chased. But this is a game set by the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord, and we don’t necessarily have to play on his board, right?”

The location information keeps being disclosed?

Then we just need to attack the credibility of that information.

“What if, when the location is disclosed, information is added that the Heavenly Demon Medallion is in another location with the same content? What if there are not just one or two, but hundreds or thousands of them?”

Wearing the Steel Gauntlet and refining fake Heavenly Demon Medallions with steel alchemy, he spoke.

Woosh woosh woosh!

Thanks to only copying the form of the Heavenly Demon Medallion, dozens of fake medallions were created per second.

“If we make them confused about what’s real and fake, we can at least prevent the rabble from swarming all at once, right?”

Wobble wobble-

Simultaneously, a bizarre shadow figure conjured by Black Shadow Manipulation Art became a puppet connected to the Black shadow envoy and picked up a fake Heavenly Demon Medallion.

It wasn’t just one shadow figure.

Wobble wobble wobble wobble wobble!

Using the power of Legendary Equipment like the Throne of the Dharma Wheel, Extreme Seal of Yato, North Star Crown, and Epicenter’s Jewel, which boosted dominance effects, he raised shadows numbering in the hundreds.

“Strengthen the black shadows.”

Using <Wheel’s Law> to enhance Black Shadow Manipulation Art and the Black shadow envoy to the level of unique skills.

Using <Clay Earth’s Contamination> to increase the number of puppets under his control.

Using <North Star Guidance> to guide the shadows to judge and act according to his will.

Using <Epicenter’s Wave> to amplify Puppetry art and expand the range of control to manipulate hundreds of puppets at once.

Focused on increasing numbers, unlike Jin Yuseong’s Black Shadow Clones, they were flimsy enough to be recognized as shadows immediately, but in the black market, such appearances would be considered shadow ghosts anyway, so it didn’t matter.

‘Ugh.’

As the number of shadow puppets increased, his mana quickly hit rock bottom.

No matter how decked out with Legendary Equipment, maintaining this many was a heavy burden.

“Eightfold Annihilation.”

Paaaat!

To replenish the insufficient starlight, he used the Ultimate Technique of Eight Gates Evasion to raise his Synchronization Rate with Hyu to 200%.

Thanks to Pheidippides reaching 5-Star, albeit half-baked, he could activate Eight Gates Evasion without using Transcendence and without Life Consumption.

Kwakwakwakwakwa!!

A torrent of starlight surging from deep within his being was entirely consumed to maintain the shadow puppets.

However, the starlight overflowing as all eight gates opened was slightly more than what was being consumed.

Jjeojek.

For now, it was okay, but if this state continued, the overflowing starlight would shatter his body’s Vessel.

But as anticipated, he immediately activated the Dark Hole of the Dark Heart.

Shoowaahaaak!

Siphoning all the excess overflowing starlight into the dark hole, he barely regained balance within his body.

Moreover, perhaps due to the experience of handling a massive amount of starlight.

[Proficiency has met the threshold. <Mana Circulation> is Blooming.]

He even obtained a Rare Skill for handling mana.

Now, at least, the shadow puppets wouldn’t be released due to mana problems.

Zzzing. Pababababat!

Giving the real Heavenly Demon Medallion to one of the puppets, he poured all the puppets out of the Reverse World into the outskirts of the black market.

To maintain the connection with them, he had to keep the opened passage, but by deploying a Black curtain in the dark, near-perfect Stealth was achieved, so there was almost no worry of the Reverse World being discovered.

Controlling the puppets spread throughout the black market, he also spoke to the two people beside him and Lycan.

“You two, act as information brokers in the black market, spread false information, and when the enemies scatter, deal with them one by one.”

“Will do.”

“Okay.”

“Understood, Master.”

Thus, Park Seongcheol and Yu Sehee went out into the black market, transforming back into the forms of Gapjang and Jigwi, while Lycan moved in his unchanged werewolf form, beginning to spread information to lure the moths.

It was killing two birds with one stone, making money while selling false information.

“Selling new information on the Heavenly Demon Medallion!”

“Current location info available too!”

And when the time came and the real Heavenly Demon Medallion’s location was disclosed on the Dark Web, countless fake location informations had already flooded the black market and the Dark Web.

* * *

The next day, the black market was swarming with looters targeting the Heavenly Demon Medallion and information brokers trying to make money by selling them false information.

Even though those without black market entry permissions were filtered out first, the number was not small.

“Where is the Heavenly Demon Medallion!”

“You, what are you hiding in there?”

Those who came for the Heavenly Demon Medallion looked around with fiery eyes, checking who had it.

But they couldn’t act recklessly either.

“Causing a disturbance will result in expulsion.”

Jin Taeseong’s subordinates managing the black market blocked those who crossed the line, maintaining the market’s order.

“Why are there so many location informations for the Heavenly Demon Medallion?”

“Too many bastards selling false info.”

“Huhu. I have a Lie Detection skill… Huh? They’re all real?”

“Don’t you know fakes don’t get caught by Lie Detection if they believe they’re real?”

“Originally, if you have a deception-type skill, you can fool the detection results too. In times like these, it’s divination skills you should trust.”

“That’s the problem, the divination results are weird too. When I cast divination targeting the Heavenly Demon Medallion, the location came out as hundreds of places.”

“It seems the current owner of the Heavenly Demon Medallion is quite well-prepared.”

With fake and real information rampant, they didn’t know which was real.

Thanks to that, the situation hadn’t escalated into a major disturbance yet, and they were just sizing each other up.

But if the Heavenly Demon Medallion revealed itself, this precarious order would soon break.

Swoosh.

In such a situation, Lee Hanseong prepared the stage by subtly showing the fake Heavenly Demon Medallion held by a puppet only to a few strong individuals to lure them elsewhere, or using <Sleeve Insert> to slip a fake medallion into the pocket of a minor looter.

At the moment when the stage he intended was somewhat set.

Lee Hanseong, sitting on the Throne of the Dharma Wheel and overseeing the entire black market with an Aerial View, activated Hyu’s 4th Awakening Skill 《Fate Direction》.

Thanks to deploying Eight Gates Evasion by amplifying his Synchronization Rate with Hyu, Fate Direction had also changed from a Vocation Awakening Skill to a General Awakening Skill, so there was no need to consume life.

“The moths shall be swept up in the grand puppet show cast over the black market and meet their death.”

With Lee Hanseong’s low recitation, the Fate Direction that would end with the death of the looters targeting the Heavenly Demon Medallion began.

It was the prelude to the grand puppet show that would last for a month.