Chapter 454

"You say the side effects are only the second biggest problem—why?"

"The moment you undergo the procedure, the pain is so intense that you regret it immediately..."

"Pain?"

"Most advanced countries have outlawed attempts at artificial awakening, so there must have been a reason."

"True. Even if war breaks out in our society, torture is still prohibited under criminal law."

"Someone who knows that..."

"Does forcing a mutation require extremely inhumane measures?"

If only the conversation had gone this smoothly from the beginning.

With his left ankle, right ankle, and right shoulder all shattered, the homeowner finally began giving up the information obediently. Of course, even after observing the man's attitude, the alien still couldn't tell whether he was being sincere, so in the end he quietly cast a spell anyway.

"By the way, just so you know, don't even think about deceiving me."

"I'm not. I only lied earlier because I was terrified. I won't do it again even if it kills me."

Even the embellishment provided by the incantation turned out to be unnecessary. The Earthling, whose shoulder blade had been shattered, gently touched the injured area and obediently divulged what he knew.

"P, please, just spare me. I'll tell you everything I know—everything!"

To this Japanese resident, the sudden appearance of a superpowered intruder was no different from encountering a god.

"Okay."

"Ugh..."

"Then from here on, I'll trust you and ask my questions. First—have you shown any signs of health problems recently, while you were outside?"

"That... is probably true. These days, I often cough up phlegm mixed with blood, and my nerves hurt every single day."

"What exactly do you mean by your nerves hurting?"

"According to the testimony of an artificially awakened person arrested in another country, it feels something like gout..."

For reference, the Archmage had asked this because he wanted to know how this awakened individual had ended up being suspected as a fake in the first place. He intended to trace the source of the rumors. But from the man's answer, Kim Goryeo learned something unexpected.

"So that's why there was actually an article—because word got out that an S-rank was seriously ill."

It became immediately clear that anyone who recklessly wore magical power that didn't suit their body could not remain healthy.

"If the people of South Korea find out, this could become troublesome information. There are already rumors that the fourth S-rank is an artificial awakener, and if this news spreads, who knows what unnecessary chaos might break out..."

It was just as the golden-haired man was feeling concerned that the Japanese permanent resident spoke up.

"Ah! But it's okay. It hurts a bit, but it's not enough to kill me."

"What?"

"The person who performed the procedure said it might hurt for a while, but it wouldn't kill me."

"So I thought... as long as I can endure the pain, maybe trying a little enhancement isn't such a bad idea...?"

This was something the Archmage simply couldn't let pass.

"Oh my goodness."

"Uh-huh."

"You believed that?"

"Yes?"

"This is an awakening method that has never once been attempted in all of history. So of course no one can possibly know whether the side effects will kill you or not."

The human esophagus was not an organ that was supposed to bleed. Yet even after side effects had already begun to appear, could trusting the practitioner's words really be considered normal?

"What kind of reckless spirit possessed you to try such a suspicious enhancement procedure in the first place?"

The mage, who had altered his face, now voiced his doubts with almost pure sincerity.

"Yes. That."

"The thing is... my life was as good as over anyway..."

But the answer that followed was something the alien could never have imagined.

"I already told you earlier that I met the broker at the hospital."

"Right."

"I lost my right hand around last year because of a dungeon break accident. I couldn't receive proper treatment for personal reasons, and I ended up developing sepsis."

"_ _"

"They said it was caused by a bacterial infection."

The kidneys.

For reference, kidneys damaged as a complication of sepsis responded especially poorly to dungeon potion effects.

In other words, even in the era of Dungeon Shock, this was not a condition one would encounter often.

"But looking back now, aside from the pain during the procedure, those 'people' were really peculiar."

"What?"

"They saw me dragging my dying body in for one last gamble, and then—out of nowhere—they actually gave me proper, expensive anesthetics..."

"Ah."

"They didn't drain all the blood from an unconscious young man like some illegal blood dealer."

"Instead, they tested the awakening method on your body."

Perhaps because he'd been kneeling for so long, or because three of his limbs were broken, the Asian man suddenly shifted his posture.

"Even so, that was an incredible stroke of luck for me."

"Is it really something worth praising that much?"

"Of course. It was worth it, running past the guards while biting my tongue."

If he just spoke calmly, the intruder really wouldn't attack...

The absurd appearance of the obsessive fan had kept him under extreme tension, but by this point, that tension finally began to ease. The Japanese resident was slowly starting to experience a sense of peace.

"The practitioners back in my hometown welcomed me warmly after my awakening, and they even restored the hand that had been mangled by a gate beast, free of charge!"

"Surgery?"

"No, not surgery. They just gave me some dungeon-made medicine."

A statement that truly demonstrated the privileged position of an S-rank, no matter where one went.

"If it's a potion capable of regenerating lost body parts, even an ordinary person might be able to afford one once in a lifetime."

However, still...

The basic principles of a capitalist society existed. When one side's gain was this large, there were bound to be unsettling points.

"Come to think of it, they probably didn't charge a poor person who couldn't even afford proper hospital treatment..."

The alien, who had layered someone else's appearance over his skin, fell into thought for a moment.

"Even though they succeeded in creating an S-rank, instead of demanding anything in return, they just handed over a potion worth tens of billions of won?"

From everything revealed so far, it almost sounded like the charitable work of an international humanitarian organization.

If not...

It could simply be that some class monopolizing the world's wealth had money to throw around casually.

"For now, I should at least make a note of their appearance and what they were wearing."

The man with bright apricot-colored skin soon nodded.

While using Kim Goryeo's body, the alien felt a slight discomfort at pretending not to be Kim Goryeo.

"You're asking me to give you the personal information of the people who awakened me?"

So from around this point onward, he began pursuing his goals directly instead of hesitating over every little thing.

"...Their hair color was like that. As for their clothes, strangely enough, there wasn't anything unusual about them. They looked almost like people who had just been doing housework."

"Hmm."

"But, you know... you're really looking for that group because you genuinely want to become stronger, right?"

"Hmm?"

"You're not saying that because you're an operative sent by some communist state to steal their technology..."

"_ _"

"Oh dear! Oh dear! I spoke out of turn. There's only one thing I want to say: they aren't as bad or as crazy as the rumors make them sound!"

"_ _"

"They're benefactors who, even though their test subject became an S-rank, didn't demand anything in return. On the contrary, they even arranged passage for me to return to Japan! Aah!"

The person being interrogated suddenly panicked.

For reference, Kim Goryeo hadn't threatened him.

It was just that, with illusion magic layered over a slightly difficult-to-control mammalian body, he'd unconsciously frozen in place for a few seconds—that was all.

"I completely forgot to blink."

Fortunately, that eerie stillness didn't last long.

"They even arranged things so you could come back to Japan?"

"The one disguised as a different race consciously adjusted his expression and soon offered his opinion in a natural tone."

"From a Westerner's perspective, it might be confusing. I'm not Japanese, you know."

The primitive mage replied.

"I'm a low-skilled worker who briefly entered the country back when the concept of 'Dungeon Shock' didn't exist—that is, when this country was struggling with rapid population aging."

These were the kinds of stories that never appeared in newspapers.

"For your information, I didn't make much money. I was caught quickly because I didn't have the proper visa."

"So, you were a criminal."

"Still, thanks to that, my face never became known in Japan. After being repatriated to my home country, I faced the law and was sentenced to long-term hard labor."

"So that's when the Dungeon Shock happened."

"Yes. But the situation didn't exactly improve, because my hometown has a tradition of using prisoners when investigating non-human territories..."

The figure sitting on the floor carefully chose his words.

"Even right up until I was about to lose my hand, I still couldn't forget the illusion."

Illusion.

The term, being closely related to the study of magical theory, naturally caught even the alien's attention.

"Even if it wasn't Tokyo specifically, I just wanted to go somewhere—anywhere—far from my hometown."

Moreover, the following statement was deeply interesting from the perspective of a marine creature.

Earthlings like Jeong Haesong or Johan, embodiments of patriotism, seemed destined to be buried in national parks.

But not everyone in this world died in their homeland.

"I'm suited to filthy capitalism."

For reference, the man saying this was still worried that the crazy fan in front of him might be a communist. He kept glancing around nervously, continuing the conversation with obvious caution.

"In this world, how many people haven't dreamed of building themselves up from nothing?"

"That's right."

"I want to become rich."

"Me too."

"I'm just going to use the power I gained to make money. And besides that, I plan to live quietly. Very quietly. So please, just let me live."

Finally, the Earthling in front of him barely managed to move his broken right arm, almost as if in prayer.

He gently waved his hands and once again begged for his life.

"What do you mean, making money is your life's goal?"

Once they actually started talking, they realized their interests were similar, and in many ways, they felt a strong sense of kinship.

But there was still something that made it difficult to leave immediately.

According to the testimony of the person who had handed over the [Greatsword of the Sun God], the Japanese resident before him had come into conflict with a group that rejected Awakened Ones.

"But—"

"Yes? Y, yes. Please ask."

Kim Goryeo asked the frightened civilian another question.

"For someone who says he only wants to make money, you were always taking friendly photos with the Awakened Management Agency, weren't you?"

It was also a cautious way of speaking, meant to protect the informant Iori.

"Gasp!"

But the awakener immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion after hearing the question.

That strange-speaking Westerner really was a special investigator from some powerful country!

Kim Goryeo had simply recalled a news photograph published overseas and finished his sentence.

However, from a third party's perspective, it could easily have sounded like something said by a HUMINT operative working abroad.

"Do you dislike the Awakened?"

So the Japanese resident struggled to answer the next question.

"What are you talking about? It's a misunderstanding! A complete misunderstanding!"

"A misunderstanding?"

"I, I only kept saying 'yes, yes, yes' to whatever the important people told me because I didn't want to get kicked out of this country again."

"Really?"

"I'm just a weak migrant who spends all his time sucking up! I'm sorry. I won't go against the will of the great powers, so please—don't arrest me!"

Since the secretly cast magic was still active, every word he spoke was automatically true.

"Then why did you ignore every attempt by the Japanese S-ranks to talk to you?"

What followed was a brief moment of thought.

"Overacting to look good in front of government agencies? Or does he just have a terrible personality...?"

Though it wasn't exactly a trait worthy of praise, the Archmage decided to tolerate it—barely.

"But anyway, this isn't someone who would manipulate wizards and dream of wiping out an entire group. It would be excessive for an alien to handle him. In the end, thanks to some political misunderstanding in another country, the [Legendary] ended up in my hands."

And that was the end of it.

Afterward, just to be safe, he also asked detailed questions about the location where the procedure had been performed.

Having safely gathered all the information he needed, Kim Goryeo bid farewell while still wearing his fake face.

"That's all the questions I have. Thank you for your time, and have a good rest of your afternoon."

"Crazy b*stard..."

Refraining from using the alien-style [brainwashing] was also an extra consideration for the Earthling's mental health.

"By the way, our meeting is a secret. It would cause trouble if you mentioned my existence anywhere, so just sign here, please."

Because after coming all the way into the man's house, he even produced the knight's oath and presented it to him.

Of course, this probably wasn't very good for the other man's mental health either.

***

Money.

Magic.

Magic.

Money.

Whenever one sets a goal, it's wise to consider whether those two things are lacking.

But for someone who now possessed both in abundance, the brief trip to Japan ended without incident.

Let's value human life.

In the meantime, I returned to Korea and fell into deep thought.

'Back in Switzerland, I let my emotions get the better of me and used my power far too easily. From now on, I need to deal with people in a way that won't leave any lasting aftereffects!'

The first thought that came to mind was a sense of pride at having successfully protected the mammal.

Next came the main issue that needed to be resolved.

'By the way... judging by the complete lack of secrecy, it seems the fifth S-rank didn't actually have any direct contact with...'