Chapter 97

Matap (2)

It was late in the night. After I had a short and unpleasant meeting with Arthur Clifford, the Senator called.

"That was you, wasn't it?"

It was a question that was direct to the point.

Instead of contacting me immediately on the day that the aurora spread across the sky, he waited several days.

The meaning of that interval was that he obtained some reliable information by using the appropriate information network.

'It means that he has a string in the Korean government, too.'

I had a big smile.

"That does not belong in auctions."

The old man's face was distorted in the hologram.

He replied in a tone to depict that he's not that kind of a person.

"Couldn't it just be that I called you because I wanted to use it for fun?"

That meant he didn't intend to increase the value by controlling the volume and price in front of a large number of buyers like the case of [Vital Flame].

I spoke as I nodded.

"We agree on that, too."

If even those items were released in that way, they would inevitably be installed preferentially in areas where the urgency was low by residents with high purchasing power or selected on a subjective basis.

Any treasure tended to be involved in politics if it landed in the hands of politicians or capitalism if it landed in the hands of capitalists. There were many cases where both sides overlapped, too.

"I plan to control this item myself from now on."

I had information in my head about which dungeons will collapse, but I have one body, and I can't roam around Clearing all those dungeons.

Relying on my past life's memories, only when an area was considered in danger but required me to buy some time, will I then release them abroad.

"Surely, you wouldn't tell me how you got it, would you?"

"Even if I do, it would be meaningless right now."

Even if I taught him how, no Awakened could activate it except for me.

"If you say so, it must be so. I got it."

The Senator was simply convinced by my words and asked no more questions about where it was from.

However, it seemed that he couldn't completely let go of his regrets over the other thing.

"If I asked you if you had any plans about moving your base to the U.S. right now..."

"I have no plans at all."

"Tsk."

He clicked his tongue as if he was truly disappointed.

"You're not only going to install it on Korean grounds, are you? It's your home ground, after all."

"No, it was just a show-like concept when I let it cover up the whole territory."

"Yes, it had been quite an extravagant show."

He spoke as if he were interested.

"It seemed to have caused quite a fuss within Korea. You're being treated like a hero, aren't you? It's impressive that the reactions are like this by the circulating rumors alone."

He then added on to it.

That time, he talked about external reactions.

"Of course, other countries' reaction only reached this point only because you didn't officially give a statement."

I nodded.

Currently, the Korean government was suffering from inquiries from all over the world.

Celestial Dragon and I took a step back from being officially involved and entrusted the country with the aftermath.

But of course, some requests flew directly into me as the government couldn't filter them, and only one of them was followed up with an interview.

The Senator put up the name right in his mouth.

"I noticed that Arthur Clifford stopped by your house today."

The Korean black market's information power, led by Oh Jin-Hwa, seemed to be quite usable.

The movement of the head of the Matap Guild, which wasn't disclosed to the media, was revealed.

"That's right."

The Senator frowned.

"Be careful. The word 'foolish' is not enough to describe that grim bastard. If he says something good about you in front of you, doubt it first. The man is made out of nothing but his concern for his fragile ego and material benefits."

Oh, he got him analyzed pretty accurately, didn't he?

Arthur seemed to have continuously built his notoriety in the present era.

The deeds must have been quite annoying if it even got the Senator grinding his teeth.

Indeed, several well-known Awakened went missing in the process of unifying Britain's leading Hunter Guilds into Matap. According to the revelations in the future, most of them were kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by Arthur's instructions. His cruel way of dealing with things to provoke fear from his opponents was also famous in my previous life.

"Well noted."

The Senator asked what kind of conversation Arthur and I had that day, and I answered him honestly.

Then his face became distorted.

"It feels very wrong. It means he bluntly targeted you as an enemy."

He thought about it for a while with a serious look on his face before continuing.

"If you want, we can cause something big for the British side. So that Arthur and the other Matap members in Korea at the moment will have no choice but to hurry back to England. I can create an urgent situation so that he would no longer keep an eye on you."

It wouldn't be impossible by using his resource of people hiding all over the world.

I knew he was saying that out of consideration for me.

But I shook my head firmly.

"No, please don't."

If he did that, my plan would go sideways.

"... You must have a plan. Well, yes, you're not someone who would be waiting for that to happen with your eyes wide open."

He lit the cigar and spoke as he blew out smoke.

"This information just came in, and it was reported that Arthur bastard was said to have headed to a guild called the 'Destruction Blade' a few hours ago. He would probably be visiting the Guild Master. I don't know what they're going to talk about, but..."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, wouldn't they be talking about me?"

He gave a deep puff of cigar smoke and spoke as if he were wrapping things up.

"Adam Abrams, he's still in Celestial Dragon, isn't he? Make good use of him. He might have better knowledge than I do about the capabilities of the Matap Hunters."

The Senator once again reminded me to be careful and terminated the call.

I turned my head when the hologram connected to the terminal disappeared.

From the blind spot of the Senator's perspective, Nate was looking at me.

He asked me a question with sparkling eyes.

"By the way, when is Uncle Adam coming?"

The last telecommunication from him after parting ways in Beijing was that it could take a few more days.

I shrug my shoulders.

"I don't know yet, but why are you looking for Adam?

"..."

Nate mumbled, avoiding eye contact.

"He made... A promise with me."

He still seemed to have failed to give up his grand ambition to implant a giant Mantis's rake in his arm.

I spoke with strong determination.

"Hey, Adam hasn't explained the exact principles of the transplant technology yet. It might be dangerous, so you can't have the surgery as you please, okay? It's my instruction as a Guild Master."

"Tsk."

We then moved on to the main topic.

"Anyway, how's it going? It's already been an hour since Arthur and Seo Moon-Ga-In parted ways."

The information obtained by the Senator was good in terms of accuracy, but it was less updated.

I could assume that a spy from the Black Market couldn't report the situation in real-time.

On the other hand, I received real-time broadcasting of Arthur's meeting with Seo Moon-Ga-In through Nate.

Nate tracked him through the undead in his shadow even when the two parted ways after their meeting.

He relayed the information he gained through his subordinate.

"That man named Arthur... He called a few more people from England besides his subordinates, who are already in Korea. All are above the SS-Class. Some of them can't come because of events like dungeon exploration, so I think there are about ten people who can gather."

About ten people above SS-Rank, huh.

I'm lost in thought, and Nate continued as if he saw something again.

"Huh? He opened a hologram, and they're having a meeting or something!"

After a while, I got a rough sketch of Arthur's plan.

There was one thing that was the most important part at that point.

"So, Arthur is planning to stay in Korea?"

Nate confirmed.

"Yes, he said he'd wait for his men to come here."

Alright.

"You've done a good job."

After sending Nate back, I armed myself and held the devil's sword in my hand.

One of the purposes of creating such a grand show was to keep Arthur Clifford in Korea.

I didn't think he'd go back to London today right away, so it's a success.

I earned at least a few days.

Weeing!

I activated the [Door of Hope] to create a blue gate.

- Please enter the coordinates.

Telepathy flowed from the artifact, and I entered the coordinates.

- Coordinate verification complete. A Mana core containing 12,000 Mana is required to transfer one human species to the user's destination.

I frowned.

It was more expensive than transferring myself to the Botarch dimension.

'But it's not something I can't handle.'

I inserted the Mana core, causing waves to course along with the cluster of blue light.

- It's now ready to be used.

As soon as I threw myself into the luminescence, the next telepathic message flowed in.

- Please specify the transport location within the dimension.

The secret of the Matap Guild's regular 'manufacturing' of S-Class or higher magic skill cards was their exclusive Shepherd 2 Dungeon.

According to the internal regulations of the Matap, the Guild Master, Arthur Clifford, would be mandatorily accompanying teams when entering Shepherd 2 dungeon.

That's how doubtful and persistent he was, that man named Arthur.

'While Arthur is in Korea, other guild members are not allowed to enter the Shepherd 2 Dungeon!'

In a word, it became a treasury without an owner.

I planned to rob that treasury right now.

'But I don't have to necessarily go to the gate in England to enter the dungeon.'

First of all, teleportation within a dimension was impossible with my item.

For example, if I wanted to go to Shepherd, England, I would have to move by fixing Shepherd's coordinates when I crossed from another dimension while returning to Earth.

But I didn't intend to waste the core like that. Never.

Also, even if the dungeon's interior were empty, guild members would be guarding the Gate's front, so I wouldn't be able to go straight into the main Gate.

No matter what the method might be, didn't it only matter that I got to the destination?

- Please specify a transport location within the dimension.

I saw the image of the destination that the [Door of Hope] put up for me.

The destination set in exchange for paying 12,000 Mana cores was a middle dimension.

'This is the middle dimension where the Shepherd 2 Dungeon exists!'

The dimension map that I saw when I made a deal with the ministry spirit recorded all the dimensions located nearby, centering around the Earth.

Among them were middle-dimensional coordinates that connected dimensions, unlike those intact dimensions such as the Earth or the Botarch world.

If it was a dungeon that was connected with the Earth, it surely remained in my memory.

"Show me a Gate open within this middle dimension which connects to the Earth."

The screen changed immediately.

Among the specific areas separated by boundaries even within the middle dimensions was an area that was equivalent to Shepherd 2 Dungeon.

'It's definitely wide.'

The dungeon boundary was unusually wide compared to other dungeons.

After Clearing the dungeon, instead of closing the Gate with the obtained key, the Matap bastards expanded the dungeon and secured more monsters within the boundary.

After the incident was repeated five times, the dungeon grew to half the size of the Korean Peninsula.

'Let's see.'

The place I needed to go in that big area was...

"Okay, send me over there!"

The light flashed, and the surrounding scene completely changed.

'Successfully infiltrated!'

It was a wide plain.

Stone structures built in an unfamiliar style extend beyond the horizon.

I was inside the Shepherd 2 dungeon.

I couldn't hear the automatic message, perhaps because I didn't cross the Gate.

So I requested it myself.

"System, dungeon information!"

A text string came up right in front of me.

'Okay, I came to the right place.'

I checked two things.

First of all, the number of entrants was currently marked zero.

The number of entrants would only count the number of people who crossed the opened Gate on Earth.

Just as the alien that invaded by crossing the dungeon boundary wasn't counted on that number, I, who had moved directly through the [Door of Hope] from dimension to dimension, didn't count as well.

'It's such an overpowered item.'

Matap guild members would be guarding the Earth's Gate to that dungeon even at that moment.

They would've checked the Gate's status message regularly to see if there were any unauthorized intruders.

However, the contents would be the same no matter how many times they checked it.

Since their Guild Master was away, they should be ignorantly thinking that no one had gone inside.

'And one more thing.'

There was one more thing that I confirmed through the message.

'I guessed it right. It's very unstable.'

I gritted my teeth.

I suffered in my previous life because of those bastards.

'These bastards have the same pattern of thinking and behaving.'

Arthur, who couldn't give up his secret of having raised the Matap to where it was now and his desire for the S-Class magic cards, risking the worst of the worst possibilities, chose to leave the gate open instead of closing it. He just left a bomb that might explode at any time, as it was.

His judgment was based on the fact that while the dungeon that would collapse in a 'very unstable' state would collapse immediately, there were some dungeons that held out for an odd amount of time.

'In the meantime, he was lucky that it maintained like this for at least three years. By a hair's breadth.'

But it couldn't last that way forever.

After all, what else could have happened?

It collapsed.

As the dungeon expanded five times and widened enough as it could, the monsters that gathered were enormous.

It was too much to handle for the hunters in the U.K., so they invited hunters worldwide.

Since all kinds of monsters, including ones that weren't visible in the eyes of common hunters, had gathered, I had been dispatched even if I had low to no battle capability and participated with my guild members with my [The Successor's Eyes] discreetly.

I was dispatched to the chaos when I had no combat capability, so I was put to the brink of death a few times.

The situation was so difficult that even I, the guild's secret weapon, was mobilized. The break of Shepherd 2 dungeon was that dangerous.

'There's a reason why I grit my teeth so hard when someone mentions the name of Arthur Clifford.'

When I thought of it, he died too easily compared to what he had done in my previous life.

He was one of the first to lose his life in the early days of the break.

"Grrrrrr!"

While I was thinking so, walking through the dungeon's strange structure style, monsters that didn't match the surrounding landscape rushed in.

A group of Orcs charged in with bloodshot eyes.

I held up the handle of the sword.

Ta-ta-tat!

The purple sword energy weaved through the air, and an Orc's body was sliced apart, spilling blood.

Every time the sword was swung, the mutilated bodies of monsters accumulated around me.

"K-aaargh!"

However, the unusual characteristic of that dungeon was already noticeable.

The monsters' density was that compact, but there were no signs of dead bodies in the land except for the ones I killed.

There seemed to have been battles, considering there were many scorched marks across the place that the Matap Guild members must've made, but the monsters that should be naturally lying around were nowhere to be found except for those I made.

That only meant one thing. They were hunting there, but they collected all the useless orc bodies and stored them somewhere else.

Of course, there was a reason for going through such trouble.

Shhhhhh!

There were some strange ones that I saw in my previous life among the monsters that broke out. They were the kind that ordinary human eyes couldn't capture.

Instead of relying on physical vision, I looked at the Mana pattern fluttering in the air.

A ball of blue light, identified by [The Successor's Eyes], overflowed.

Sh-sh-swish!

Arrows of light pour into the air along with the driven sword.

Squeaal!

A monster pouring out blood appeared in the empty space in the air.

The 'Flying Lizard,' with its wings pierced, screamed, and limped. The ability to naturally melt into the surrounding landscape and create camouflaged colors like a chameleon went into overdrive. The body covered with camouflage flashed like a broken traffic light, going back and forth between white, black, green, and the surrounding buildings' colors with inverted shades.

Phuk!

The lizard's head was decapitated, and its body fell to the ground at the might of the lightly wielded blade.

The monsters were easy to catch, but they were difficult to hunt unless one had the magic skills or had special tracking-type abilities.

Turning my gaze from the dead body that fell on the stone floor, I gripped the sword handle tighter.

"How is it? Do you feel it?"

'...'

From my point of view, it was a monster that I didn't have to pull out my sword to hunt.

However, there was a reason why I kept using the devil's sword.

It was like a compass that would show me the way through the dungeon that I had never been into in the previous life.

"Are you ignoring me? I'm asking you if you feel it."

'...'

After waiting for a moment, its mental wave, which was filled with displeasure, replied.

'... Yeah. I feel it- the unpleasant energy.'

There was only one energy that the devil's sword, which had demonic properties, felt unpleasant against.

Those were from great beings beyond the limitations of mortals.

Immortals revered as 'gods' in many civilizations showed off their presence in the worlds that had completed the tutorial. Their existence was close to a supreme being.

It's their energy.

"You mean that you feel the sacred energy over there, don't you?"

I kept walking in the direction that the devil's sword reacted to.

The treasure that the Matap Guild wanted to protect until the end but eventually failed to take out of the dungeon was waiting there.