#174
Hero’s Footsteps (1)
“Wow… The internet is buzzing about Hahoe masks these days. Well, if it’s even on the news, it says it all. Although, they did put a bit of a mosaic on it, probably because of the influence of the video.”
“Still, I think I’m overreacting more than I thought.”
“It’s bound to be amazing. This is the first time something like the Bone Dragon has appeared on Earth. And since our people like such things, they keep fanning the flames.”
“Something like that?”
Jin So-ran smiled and continued playfully, seeing Heinz tilting his head.
“Why, you put a K in front of it? I heard they call it K-Hahoe-tal these days. I heard it was also nominated for the Doyouknowclub? Hehe.”
“···Hmm, that’s really useless. Anyway, since the important stuff is mostly done, I’ll be going now. Jinsoran, you take care of the rest.”
“Ah, yes! Understood, Lord. Come in.”
After wrapping up the small talk and leaving Heterosis’s office, he immediately disappeared into “Negation of Existence” and flew back to his residence.
Of course, the real Heinz II was still in the Kingdom of Thalia, and he was currently using “entity projection”.
‘I guess I should refrain from projecting onto Hans until things are over in Japan. By the way, it’s the Buncheonhoe…’
The recent clash between Hans and the Buncheonhoe gave him much to think about.
This time, thanks to Heratos, we were able to break the trap and shake them off, but that wasn’t a reason to make fun of them.
‘On the contrary. If we weren’t careful, there really would have been no other answer than to unsummon them. The undead were of little use against enemies of that level.’
In fact, it’s not like he didn’t bring out the undead from the beginning.
I just realized that my weak fighting skills would only be a hindrance in the fight against those guys, so I gave up halfway through.
It was natural, considering the fierce battle that required them to storm the battlefield and unleash dark magic like a bomb.
Undead created on Earth using only black magic without any special materials or processes were bound to have limitations.
Of course, it would have been helpful if we had brought out the upper-level undead from the Immortal Army…
‘When I created the subordinate subspace, I thought I could now call upon and use the undead from another world at will… Well, back then, I didn’t know much about the rules either.’
Unlike the Awakened who deviated from the laws of the world, the undead from the other world, who moved according to their own system, collapsed as soon as they were taken out of Earth, making normal operation impossible.
Except for Heratos, whose uniqueness as a bone dragon meant that Hans took on the role of the heart.
In addition, it was impossible to send reinforcements via the transporter when needed, as in Outerica, so for now, there was no other way than to cancel the summons if it seemed dangerous.
‘But since we’ve acquired a lot of quality materials this time, things will get better from now on, right? Preparations for Salma’s undead transformation are also almost complete.’
As such, he had high expectations for the Earthling and Awakened Undead that he was currently working hard to create.
Although their level may be somewhat lower than that of the living, undead who are close to transcendence and ignore the laws of the world will continue to be helpful in the future.
‘Just in case, the finishing touches will have to be done on Earth. But the processes that require a lot of time and materials can be done in another world, while enjoying the benefits on Earth. This is an environment that all necromancers would envy.’
The additional corpses acquired this time also meant that they would be reborn as top-tier undead in just a few days in Earth time, meaning that the Byeoncheonhoe was increasing its power at an unimaginable rate.
However, even that was still considered to be insufficient.
‘So that level of power was only the Japanese branch… including a small number of additional supporters from China?’
I didn’t have the luxury of capturing the ones I dealt with alive this time, so I wasn’t able to properly look into their minds, but according to the information I’ve gathered so far, the Bancheonhoe is not an organization limited to Asia.
But if the power of East Asia was that great, it was impossible to even guess how great their power would be spread throughout the world.
‘I’m not joking. If they really set their mind to it, they could easily swallow up several countries in an instant.’
However, since doing so would have resulted in unnecessary losses for the Buncheonhoe, they must have chosen the current route.
It could be that there are countries that have already fallen into their hands, although they have not yet been revealed.
‘···No matter how much I think about it, Hans alone isn’t enough. I need more, more power.’
No matter how strong Hans is, there is a limit to what he can do alone.
In order to effectively block their ambitions, we also needed to increase our numbers…
‘They are too big to expect anything from the Returners’ Association or the Awakened Management Organizations of each country. There is no way information can leak out during the process of consultation between multiple people.’
Or maybe there’s a spy in that position.
Likewise, it was impossible to simply believe that there must be ‘those who are enemies of the Buncheonhoe’ somewhere.
‘I’d rather just do it all myself. Well, if I actually face them, I can give them indirect support to some extent.’
As planned from the beginning, it was best to train many avatars to be strong.
Those guys from the Buncheonhoe will probably never understand.
Why is the interference with Hahoe Mask so persistent?
And soon, not only Hahoe-tal, but also other troublemakers will appear one after another to interfere with them.
***
[Kihihihi!]
Clank! Clank!
In the center of the northern mountain range of the Ion Continent, surrounded by high mountains, there was a pitch-black castle standing tall in a terrain where sunlight rarely reached.
A magical realm where the air is chilly all year round due to various environmental problems, and where the atmosphere of death is overflowing due to the numerous undead that are densely packed around the area.
It was the eternal labyrinth and Demon King’s Castle, also known as the ‘Immortal Castle’, called by the Immortal King Hans.
[Indeed, that’s great. Since you actively used the Abyss, the maturation period seems to have been shortened more than I thought. Good job, Dwell.]
[You are too kind, Immortal King! This is nothing!]
Deep within the castle, against a backdrop that made the already gloomy interior even more eerie, two skeletons were conversing amicably.
All sorts of magic circles carved everywhere and strangely-looking magical tools scattered everywhere.
The biological tissues that appeared to be samples were constantly wriggling and showing off their presence, and the various experimental devices neatly placed reflected a cool light.
There, on the blood-stained operating table, there are many cruel restraint devices hanging from the table to prevent the bound person from resisting, and there is even something like an incubator filled with the abyss, bubbling and boiling—.
It was literally the ‘lab of a mad wizard’.
‘Actually, it’s not wrong, since it’s a laboratory for the Liches. But now it’s also a workshop for creating special undead.’
Hans, who had been scanning the surrounding Liches, turned his gaze back to Dwell, the head of this laboratory.
Because the flow of time was different, he could return to Earth without much of a burden like now, but since it was only once every ten days, he had no choice but to leave most of the work to his subordinates.
However, even though Dwell’s fighting power was lower than that of other officers, he was also a veteran Archrich who had lived for much longer than Hans.
For him, managing the undead transformation process wasn’t that difficult, and he was able to gain the Immortal King’s trust by carrying out the task perfectly.
[Okay, then… these are next.]
clattering-
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And, with that faith,
Hans poured the corpses of the Awakened, carefully selected from Earth, onto the laboratory floor.
One man in a suit from the Bancheonhoe, who could be considered on the same level as Salma, and about fifteen corpses that, although slightly inferior to him, could be useful if processed with care.
[···Oh, are these all done in the same process as that guy···?]
[Kuhaha— Okay. You’ll have to use all of these separately, so pay special attention to them.]
[Oh, I understand, Your Majesty! Just leave it to me!]
Although he said it wasn’t that difficult, the process that included dealing with the abyss couldn’t have been easy.
Of course, it’s a task that requires a lot of attention and dedication, but I’ve suddenly been assigned so many things…
[Then let’s come again next time.]
[···yes.]
But for Hans, who had many capable subordinates under his command and was now accustomed to this harsh work environment, it was just a routine.
To begin with, the Immortal Army was a black company from the start, so there’s nothing that can be done about it.
After giving Dwell a bunch of work to do, he was busy going around to different places to check on the progress of the tasks he had instructed his subordinates to do and to give new orders.
And finally.
[Good, then I guess that’s how we’ll proceed from now on.]
[Girl··· I will do my best···.]
After Hans finished everything with Olivia, he quietly disappeared from the immortal world again.
To finish what we were doing on Earth.
But even after such a storm had passed, there were those who maintained their usual calmness…
Damn it!
“···Wow, isn’t this really going too far?”
“Ooh! This is fun. Is there anything more difficult than this, Riley?”
It was Princess Riley and Hesperon who were confined in the residential area within the immortal castle and devoted themselves solely to magical training.
Riley shook her head with a hollow laugh as she looked at a cluster of ice flowers blooming in full bloom on the garden floor.
It had been nearly two months since she had been held captive here, and over a month since Hesperon had become the new resident.
And the words I just blurted out without realizing it were the ones that had become a habitual phrase for her for the past month.
It was so stuck to my mouth that now it just pops out habitually.
“Heron, do you know what you just did?”
“Huh? What did I do wrong?”
“···No, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s just that you’ve surpassed what it took me over ten years to achieve. And that’s in just a little over a month.”
“Huh?”
Riley sighed again as she watched him blink with a blank expression.
Things were different now than when I was overtaken by Isae less than a month ago when I was 11 years old.
‘It’s been 8 years since then… But you’re saying that you only earned a few more days than when you were with Sea?’
Even that was the time it took for her to pass on all the knowledge she had only delved into theoretically, as she had little talent for magic.
Now, unlike back then, we don’t have the resources to receive help with training, such as magic books or magical tools!
‘Ah… Magic, I’m glad I didn’t work too hard. If I had worked hard and been overtaken like this, I would have definitely been discouraged.’
When the princess was trying so hard to rationalize herself and control her mind.
Hesperon read the phrase that appeared before his eyes with blank eyes.
《The entity has gained enlightenment through repeated training. It acquires the skill “Introduction to Magic”.》
‘I thought the level of theory was higher than I thought. But something like this happens too.’
Princess Riley’s level as a wizard was not very high due to the limitations of her talent, but as a princess of the empire, the teachings she received could not have been of a low level.
In addition, since he was smart and had a good memory, there was no chance of his knowledge being distorted, so it was not that surprising that he developed this skill.
“Huh, well, it’s fine. Anyway, I’m not a real wizard… This is just something I learned as general knowledge…? No matter what anyone says, I’m destined to become the emperor….”
“Oh—of course, Riley. So calm down now.”
“Honorific!”
I sneakily interrupted her as she frowned and muttered, but she responded like a ghost.
The two of them start bickering again with that.
But this was all just a preparatory work to appeal to the fact that Hesperon, a naive and oblivious youth from another world, was not yet accustomed to the class system.
I don’t know how much she knows about Earthlings, but if she didn’t prescribe medicine in advance, then other Earthlings… Ise-ah might hear the story later and feel uncomfortable.
‘Yes, it’s time to move on to the next step… the princess escape scenario.’
As they had become somewhat close as originally intended, Riley began to call him by his name, and as a bonus, he had even taken his first step as a full-fledged magician, so it seemed like he had gained everything he could gain right away.
It’s a shame that she wasn’t able to learn it in detail this time because she wasn’t interested in summoning magic, but if she’s by the princess’ side, there will be plenty of opportunities to learn it later.
In fact, if you use Hans, you can learn it right away, but since Hesperon is an Awakener of Earth and has made contact with the princess, it was necessary for him to become stronger.
‘Well… then what… huh?’
While I was thinking like that.
He paused for a moment at the unexpected timing of the message that appeared before his eyes again.
《Achievement achieved! You have started walking the ‘path to salvation’ to save the world.》
《More than half of the living intelligent beings in the Auterica dimension have recognized your struggle against evil. As a reward, you will be granted the special privilege “Hero’s Footsteps.”》
《You have achieved an achievement and made a great impact on the world. Karma increases additionally.》
Of course, of course.
The message was not a sentence that appeared before the novice wizard Hesperon, but before the warrior ‘Heinrich Saint Landgard’.
