Chapter 31 · 11 min

Chapter 31

If you press the link

First he postponed it to later.

Seo I-hyeon lay on the bed and worried whether to do it today or not then decided not to.

Someday he will, but it doesn't necessarily have to be today, right.

In fact there's no occasion for problems to arise right away. Wouldn't it be okay to do after looking into a bit more and grasping what the situation is?

Honestly he also doesn't want to.

Seo I-hyeon exhaled a deep sigh. Just thinking is terrible.

First the preparation means Seo I-hyeon is thinking of is space movement.

Wherever trapped space movement is the best means to escape there.

One can break everything with force, but if that doesn't work?

For example if trapped hundreds of meters underground how would it be. Then there's no method except real space movement.

Anyway Seo I-hyeon can of course also use space movement magic.

It's a considerable high-difficulty magic, but Seo I-hyeon just learned it through memorization, and just using is enough.

Even the magic Seo I-hyeon uses application is also simple. Because if just catching the image well it's enough.

The problem is exactly one. Materials.

There was an occasion of mentioning before, the materials going into magic that involves space are eyes, ears, nose etc.

Especially high-difficulty magic like space movement using eyes is the best. No, one has to use eyes.

So it means one has to pull out eyes again. So of course one doesn't want to. How much that hurts.

It's not only that it hurts that's a problem. There's also a psychological problem.

Honestly the arms hurt more. Because regeneration takes even a few more seconds.

The pain when regenerating is much greater than the pain when pulling out eyes. Arms are the same.

But the psychological fear of eyes being pulled out acts like seasoning on the pain.

Isn't it a similar reason that a person who endured torture well shrinks completely if trying to crush the lower body?

Seo I-hyeon trembled his body. For no reason imagining it seems to hurt even though not cut and even a sense of loss is felt.

Seo I-hyeon quickly shook off the thoughts and held the smartphone.

Space movement magic was postponed to later, and today's work is community exploration.

More precisely new community search.

From when hearing related talk from Lee Yeong-su interest was many.

They say there's a community where only mages gather how wouldn't there be interest.

Probably the martial arts user's community or communities of those with other abilities would also be separate.

All curious, but since saying authentication is absolutely necessary he doesn't know if Seo I-hyeon can see.

He doesn't even know what the authentication method is.

So first he decided to look for the mage community. If looking one by one step by step, wouldn't one be able to find most communities?

Setting aside whether one can use that.

First he entered the easiest and most manageable general community. Here one has to find as much information as possible.

First through various searches he found the desired posts.

But every time searching the amount of posts that come out was enormous.

Even searching only mage thousands of posts appear, if searching community tens of thousands of posts appear.

Posts overlapping the two also exceed a thousand by far.

Since one can't read all this he mobilized various keywords and filtered.

There's also a method of searching on the dark web, but hearing the risk is big he gave that up.

Anyway filtering posts like that and reading one by one, he could know why Lee Yeong-su called here the trash can.

If reading 100 posts among them 90 are posts trying to scam.

Among the remaining 10 9 are useless talk or posts pouring out momentary emotions, and the last about one is a post that is somewhat usable.

Also containing some information, and rumors wandering the hidden world, etc.

Still persistently searching and reading posts he accumulated information one by one.

Like that he confirmed that there are really various communities.

Mage, martial artist, spirit user, alchemist, shaman, esper, and up to mercenary and fixer.

What Seo I-hyeon found and confirmed the existence was up to there for now.

Probably if looking there would be more, but he didn't do that much.

From now on it's the turn to confirm where each community is, and how one has to do to enter.

This time he realized that with just searching and finding posts no matter what it doesn't work.

Until realizing that he wasted a few hours, but with just what found out it was sufficiently worth pouring that time.

Anyway from then he indiscriminately sent notes to those he guesses would be in each community wanting to obtain information.

Of course replies didn't come right away. No, there was no one who confirmed right away either.

Originally this kind of thing takes a bit of time. If waiting one by one results will come.

After sending all the notes to send like that, he spent time reading a few of the community's latest posts.

Even if here is a trash can if reading, there's something one picks up.

Sure enough, a few posts that touch the nerves stood out in the eyes.

"Anomaly occurrence frequency increased..."

Lee Yeong-su also said similar words. That anomaly extermination requests increased.

It could just be a natural phenomenon, but tying with what Seo I-hyeon directly experienced the thought that there would be something strongly arose.

In Seo I-hyeon's view, those guys placed the skinwalker there and managed it.

Would those guys really manage only that one? Absolutely no way.

Probably a considerable number among the increased anomaly extermination requests would be related to those guys.

If examining the posts that anomalies increased one by one, there are many opinions that everyone is a bit strange.

The anomalies' activity is active, but finding the anomalies that are active like that is difficult they say.

Why would finding be difficult. Because managing it's like that.

The skinwalker Seo I-hyeon caught was also a guy confined in the house with a barrier and managed.

Probably if not Seo I-hyeon he couldn't have caught for a while. No, those guys after sufficiently achieving the purpose would have taken and withdrawn.

Whether the Management Bureau or subordinate companies it would have become the appearance of a dog chasing a chicken and only looking at the roof.

"Ha. This fuck. I know, I know."

Seo I-hyeon grumbled and raised his body.

With such unusual guys active can one postpone work regarding one's own safety to later.

"Aa. I don't want to!"

Seo I-hyeon shouted like that and went out to the living room.

Most work regarding magic the principle is doing in the living room. Atmosphere and environment were also well composed to match there.

For example there's the shadow. Selecting the lighting's position and height well and maximized the shadow's size as much as possible.

Well, thanks to the shadow warehouse one can artificially enlarge the shadow, but still originally the bigger side is better for doing whatever.

"Haa. Let's do it, do it."

Seo I-hyeon brought both hands to the eyes.

* * *

Seo I-hyeon who was rolling on the floor panting slowly raised his body while lying face down.

In a posture of placing hands and knees on the floor he was like that for a while.

From the eyes blood tears poured continuously. Of course the eyes were fine. Because already regenerated long ago.

Just residual blood tears flow a bit. The blood tears that fell on the floor all entered the shadow.

"Haaa. Those guys then... I won't leave them. If an opportunity comes I'll smash them to pieces. Dirty painful."

Seo I-hyeon resolved revenge on those nameless guys who made him hurt like this.

If pulling out others' eyes one has to prepare to have one's own eyes pulled out too, right.

Anyway two eyeballs arose.

He took out one of the two eyeballs inside the shadow.

And using the shadow he drew a magic circle.

Making the magic circle and shadow overlap he placed the eyeball on it.

Until completing the magic the shadow will supply blood on its own. Probably quite a lot of blood will be needed so one has to prepare in one's own way.

Seo I-hyeon placed his palm in the air above the magic circle.

The mana that flowed from the palm firmly connected to the magic circle.

"Darkness. Deeper darkness. Passage of the void. Deeper darkness. Darkness. Emission."

A clear image was caught in the head.

The magic circle and eyeball and shadow collapsed as if melting and clumped into one.

The blood stored in the shadow warehouse poured into the collapsed shadow at an enormous speed.

A headache as if piercing the skull arose. Seo I-hyeon gritted his teeth and endured that.

The bigger the magic the bigger the headache that comes.

Soon the headache disappeared as if washed. A refreshing sensation as if the inside of the head empties poured, and that sensation soon spread throughout the body.

The magic was done well.

The collapsed shadow also returned to original.

"Good. First one completed."

Seo I-hyeon muttered like that and glanced around. Seeing the shadow draped at the end of the living room he activated the magic.

At that moment, Seo I-hyeon's body descended below the shadow then in an instant surged from the shadow draped at the end of the living room.

"Not bad."

There's no way to fail, but still seeing it working well was fulfilling.

Like this he completed shadow movement.

The advantage is that it's space movement. Whether there's an obstacle in the middle or whatever as long as there's a shadow one can immediately go beyond space.

The disadvantage is first every time using Seo I-hyeon's blood is needed. The farther the distance the more blood is needed.

And the range is on the narrow side.

The shadow eye's range is a radius of 100 meters, but shadow movement is about a radius of 20 meters.

Next it has to be a place that enters the field of view. But this can be substituted with the shadow eye.

So shadow movement is much more effective if there's the shadow eye.

Since he made short-distance movement, now what's left is long-distance movement, but this is not making and using right away but has to use when needed.

One eyeball goes in and even if using once the eyeball disappears.

Instead there's no limit. No need for shadow either, no need to touch the field of view either. The movement distance is theoretically infinite.

If the movement distance increases the amount of blood going in there also increases style.

So if blood is infinite theoretically one could go even to the end of the universe. In one go.

Of course since one has to recall the destination's image well, practically it would be impossible.

Anyway one eyeball he left for later. When urgently needing long-distance movement one has to use then.

It would be good if no such occasion, no, almost none, but still human matters are unknown.

Like that roughly finishing the work to do he entered the community again. More precisely he confirmed the note box.

Surprisingly quite many replies had come.

Seo I-hyeon confirmed the notes that came as replies one by one.

The title was all just 'RE: How do you join the community?'

Just pressing the reply button on the note Seo I-hyeon sent and writing a reply.

But the content was a spectacle.

First the first.

- Are you a woman?

Seo I-hyeon let out a hollow laugh. What if he is a woman and what if a man again.

"Why are you curious about this?"

Next reply.

- If you press the link it connects right away.

Very kindly attached a link. Seo I-hyeon reflexively tried to press the link then flinched.

"Is it okay to carelessly press this kind of thing?"

Here is the dark web. Whatever going safely is right.

Seo I-hyeon opened the drawer of the nightstand next to the bed. Inside that there were tons of burner phones.

Burner phones Lee Yeong-su brought saying to use when needed. Of course not free. Because he thoroughly priced and received with coins.

Anyway he took out one burner phone and input the link address.

"Fuck. I knew it would be like this."

One burner phone was ruined. As soon as pressing the link it became useless. Probably with high probability it is transmitting the data inside the current burner phone somewhere.

If pressing the link with a phone that has coin wallet or bank app installed how would it have been. Seo I-hyeon shook his head repeatedly with a creepy feeling.

First he deleted that note and confirmed the next note.

- Because complicated it can't be explained with words. First let's meet. I'll send the address so come this way. Or if telling that side's address I can also go.

Deleted. What to trust and go there.

After that similar notes continued. How is there not even one proper note.

Like that confirming one by one and deleting he emptied the note box.

"Is this ruined?"

Even if a trash can isn't this too much.

Then there was one note that clearly entered the eyes.

- Ability user communities need a dedicated connector. Since one can buy at the cartel or Obsidian buy and connect. Because one has to link with the community ID to use so prepare in advance.

Seo I-hyeon reading that opened his eyes wide.

A dedicated connector is needed? Then why didn't Lee Yeong-su tell this? Don't tell me he doesn't know?

"I should confirm this."

Seo I-hyeon right away sent a text to Lee Yeong-su. That ability user communities need a dedicated connector do you know.

The reply came right away. He knows.

"This uncle. Then if telling in advance it's good. Why making me do this dog hard work?"

While Seo I-hyeon was grumbling one more text came.

There are also things one can only know by experiencing directly. Don't rely too much on him.

Seo I-hyeon seeing that text flinched. And nodded with a serious expression.

"Yeah. Now it's right."

Lee Yeong-su is a broker. A relationship of bringing requests and sharing profits.

So one has to keep the line. Whether Seo I-hyeon or Lee Yeong-su.

Seo I-hyeon roughly dressed and went outside.

While at it he should go to the cartel. Since he knows the location, and also knows the method of entering he can go and come alone as much as he wants.

Going he should look into the connector in a bit more detail.