< The Power of Gluttony (3) >
A three-story house with a garden located in the suburbs of Seoul.
Although it was a luxurious mansion that looked expensive at first glance, from its area to its size, strictly speaking, this type of residence was not particularly preferred.
First of all, it was far from the downtown area and lacked infrastructure compared to downtown Seoul, and above all, it was difficult to receive help from guardians and other sources in case of an emergency.
Even though public safety in Korea has improved recently, doesn’t that mean the crime rate is zero?
Of course, it was true that there was less risk of exposure to large-scale terrorist attacks that deliberately targeted crowded places.
However, minor crimes are more common than the large-scale incidents that are originally reported in the news.
Such dwellings were literally prime prey, especially for thieves who rarely exposed themselves to the outside world.
‘That’s the place.’
So, in most cases, the use of residential properties in such locations was limited to one of two reasons.
Either the landlord is an awakened person who is confident enough to protect his own safety and property, or he has the capital and power to hire such people.
Well, there were cases where people got in cheaply and held out, hoping for luck, even though they had nothing.
Except for the risk of not knowing when something might happen, it was the best in terms of cost-effectiveness.
‘Where on earth is that?’
A spacious garden surrounded by a high wall, and a three-story house standing quietly in the middle of it.
A self-proclaimed ‘Great Swordsman’ who had recently begun to secretly gain fame in the underworld licked his lips as he observed his target location through a telescope.
In fact, it could be said that he was disqualified from the point of view of a thief whose greatest virtue was stealth, but he, a new generation thief, thought that was a tedious prejudice.
In reality, aren’t there countless stories of phantom thieves that are loved all over the world?
‘After all, isn’t it okay as long as my true identity isn’t revealed?’
And he had absolute confidence in that.
Early entry into another world.
After being taken in by a master who noticed his unique skills and taught him all his abilities, he never once got caught until he returned to Earth, and he showed a truly genius-like behavior.
‘I want to feel that thrill again. No, even more than that···!’
For him, this Earth, where all the mysteries of the world intersect, was a place enough to stimulate his boiling competitive spirit.
Of course, if you really want the highest difficulty, you can go to places like the Returnees Association or the Blue House, but honestly, I was a little scared to challenge myself in those places.
‘Let’s go sequentially, sequentially. Once we become sufficiently familiar with the ways of the other world···.’
So far, only the luxury mansions in Turn have reached double digits in value.
Considering that it had been less than half a year since he returned, he had been moving very diligently.
‘What do I know about Hahoe-tal and Phantom? How are you going to catch me when you don’t even know where I am or what I’m doing? The Bureau of Abilities, the Association, and the Blood Alliance of the Underworld have only recently begun to notice my existence.’
He is different from the pyramids that were caught because they lacked skills.
Even if those infamous monsters were openly chasing him, he was confident that he could escape.
‘Then how about this hunting ground? Let’s see what skills you have.’
With that confidence, he used his signature skill, “Ghost Walk,” to quietly approach the mansion.
Other skills were already activated at the same time, and not only his appearance but also his presence was completely erased.
In this state, even if an average awakened person were to tap dance past right in front of him, he would probably not detect his presence.
In this way, Daedo approached the wall of the mansion without any problems.
But the next moment, he stopped walking without realizing it, feeling an inexplicable sense of discomfort.
‘···what?’
A sense of crisis that sends shivers down your spine and stimulates your instincts.
It was a feeling I had never felt before, when I was still immature and had put myself in danger by relying only on my unique skills, ignoring my teacher’s advice, before I had even mastered the technique.
If it weren’t for the teacher who followed him then, he wouldn’t be here now.
‘Tsk.’
At the same time, my pride was hurt.
The person I am now is different from the reckless person I was back then.
Although a direct comparison cannot be made since his master retired before he could properly rise to prominence, if we only look at his subsequent actions, didn’t he already surpass him in terms of both skill and experience?
‘Yes, we can’t just keep scheming and taking advantage of the easy places. It’s time to move on to the next step. We’re going to use this incident as an opportunity to leap forward beyond the past.’
Of course, I had no intention of ignoring this sense of crisis.
He used all his sensing abilities and even his magical tools to carefully analyze the situation beyond the wall and calmly assess the situation.
‘Indeed, what a formidable security barrier. And it’s completely concealed. Is this the cause of the sense of discomfort?’
This level of security is the best we’ve ever seen.
Perhaps it could be compared to a government building.
‘The defense of a single house located in a suburban area is like this…’
A curiosity blossomed within him.
If they could build such a defensive facility, it was clear that some big shot was involved.
There must be something wrong with that, so they must have prepared for it like this.
‘Hiding slush funds? Or maybe hiding a lover? No, maybe it’s to hide a more heinous crime scene. Drugs? Human trafficking? Organ trafficking?’
All sorts of dangerous thoughts ran through his head.
At the same time, I had a gut feeling that I would get quite tired if I got involved in this.
‘If you think rationally, it would be better to step down now, but···.’
His eyes, which closed briefly and then opened again, had a strange sense of determination.
This was a crossroads.
Will you remain just a thief who is rampant, or will you become the thief of the century like in stories?
And he had already made up his mind.
Of course, the equipment inside is dangerous, but there is a limit to the mysteries that have already been revealed.
It might be a little difficult, but at this level, his steps couldn’t be stopped.
‘let’s go!’
He activated his unique skill, “Wormhole”.
The ability to create passages through space, ignoring all defenses.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Although its effective range was not that long, it was his lifeline optimized for both infiltration and escape.
‘I’ll tell you every secret you’ve hidden inside!’
So, Daedo confidently took a step forward and entered the mansion.
“······?”
I was trapped in the formation set up in the garden.
‘uh?’
Is this what a great forest is like?
The dense bushes and trees that seemed to be at least ten meters tall were densely packed together, making it a dazzling sight.
“···What is this, how is this?”
The voice I had been holding back burst out without me knowing it.
Clearly, he was trying to bypass security and enter the mansion, avoiding the garden.
The distance calculation was perfect and I didn’t notice anything unusual during the process.
But if something like this happened, there could be only one cause.
‘Crazy! A spatial distortion that even ignores my “wormhole”? No, I couldn’t even detect it from outside···!’
With alarm bells ringing in his head, he knew intuitively.
What he knew in advance was only the tip of the iceberg.
And he himself did not know it and was so proud that he willingly entered the trap.
Phagec!
I tried using the “wormhole” again, but all I got was a white spark flying into the air, and no matter how many times I tried, no passage was created.
‘Huh, this is… divine power? Was this what covered the outside of the trap!’
Since our last resort is blocked, we have no choice but to find a way out of this.
But even though I leaped on the wind and reached the top of the tree, all I could see was an endless, vast sea of trees.
A showdown of incredible proportions.
To build a barrier of this level, you would have to be at least a great wizard, and one who has reached the level of transcendence.
No, since it includes divine power, it’s possible that two or more transcendent beings joined hands…
‘A barrier of this level in a mere residential garden? What on earth is this place? Is it the headquarters of some secret organization that dreams of overthrowing the nation?’
If you look closely, it was similar.
It was the home of a force opposing the group that aimed to conquer the world.
Of course, there is only one official member.
As if trying to prove that his reputation was not in vain, the Great Swordman moved quickly and found a way out of the barrier.
No matter how elaborate the trap is, there is nothing perfect in this world.
However, I felt deep in my bones that although there is nothing perfect in the world, there are things that are infinitely close to perfection.
“Haa— haa—.”
As time passed, my physical strength and energy rapidly decreased as if I was being sucked away by something.
My body, which had been fine even after staying up all day and night for a week, became saggy like water-soaked cotton in less than a day.
“···Ha, hahaha! Crazy··· This is ridiculous. What kind of crazy people created this kind of devilry in Korea···!”
Plants that were peacefully standing suddenly come to life and attack.
I couldn’t relax for even a moment because of the magic trap that was activated unexpectedly.
Monsters made of blood were relentlessly pursuing us, suffocating us with their thick, bloody stench.
Even though I was barely able to catch my breath, I couldn’t fully rest, let alone sleep, because of the curses and nightmares that filled the space.
It’s hard enough just to hold on, let alone find a way out.
No, honestly, it was the limit now.
It was almost a miracle that he lasted even a day.
“f*ck, you piece of shit…. In a place like this….”
dump-
In a mind that is slowly becoming clouded.
He could clearly realize this in his deep regret.
The place you entered is not a moderately difficult level-up dungeon.
That it was the worst den ever designed and planned by high-level veterans.
***
“Well, are you done? It took longer than I thought. The guy who came in this time is pretty good, isn’t he?”
I slowly closed my eyes and sipped my coffee, watching the intruder’s reaction slowly fade away.
Then, inside the barrier, a man, exhausted and on the verge of death, was captured by Blood Spawn, demons made of blood.
‘Hmm… What should I do with that guy? He looks pretty useful.’
At that level, it’s far beyond the level of a simple thief.
I don’t know much about brute force, but when it comes to infiltration abilities, with thorough preparation, the target’s inattention, and a little luck, you might be able to fool even a Transcendent being for a little while?
‘It’s a waste to just kill them like usual.’
This has happened to me a few times before, but each time my choice was the same.
After going through the interrogation process in preparation for an emergency, clean up the organization behind the incident and the people involved who knew about the incident.
There was no hesitation in the process as none of those who shared the crime scene were innocent.
‘If he was truly innocent, it would have been overlooked as just touching his memory.’
Then, suddenly, several magical tools the man was carrying came into view.
It certainly caught my eye, mixed in with the items being pulled out one after another from the subspace pockets for safety inspection.
That would be the case···.
“These are the things I sold.”
To be exact, it was some of the magical tools that were purchased through Hubert Trading Company and sold through the Blood Pact.
Of course, it wasn’t that strange.
The stable supply of magic tools was proceeding smoothly thanks to the explosive demand, and thanks to this, both Hubert Trading Company and the Blood Alliance were able to easily rise to their current positions.
The fact that the Blood Alliance, despite being a shadowy force, was able to grow to the point where it was said to rule the nights of Korea was all thanks to the conglomerate of magic tool trade added to its moderate course.
If they had not been oiled in advance, no matter how cooperative they were, it would have been difficult to avoid being subjected to all kinds of sanctions and having their power weakened.
‘···Yeah, I guess I can send them to the Blood Pact. I can make them into vampires and make them slaves, and even put a bunch of taboos on them.’
Vampirism on Earth would require an enormous amount of energy to be inefficient, but someone of that caliber could easily endure it.
In fact, that was only a minor restriction for Heinz II, who could freely obtain blood without mental contamination.
“Okay, that’s out of the question.”
Immediately after deciding what to do with the intruders who dared to invade his land.
I looked around at the other places again, nodded slowly, and smiled contentedly.
‘Okay, everything is going smoothly.’
The situation in Ganghwan-gye was going exactly as expected.
There was no need to use complicated numbers because everyone knew the severity of the situation.
‘In the first place, this is a problem for everyone living in the Gangwhan system.’
There were some who were skeptical and could not believe the truth until the end, but that reaction was completely reversed after what happened recently.
Dark clouds mixed with dark magic covered the sky over Beijing.
It was so distinct that it could be observed throughout the surrounding Hebei Province, and so violent that an ominous current could be felt even in areas further away.
As the fact spread through informants, connections, and even through footage left behind by the sorcerers of Geumodo who were keeping a close eye on Beijing, everyone’s sense of crisis reached a peak.
After that, it wasn’t that difficult to quickly coordinate our opinions and move on to the next step.
‘As quickly as possible, gather together a small number of strong elites and attack the demonic cultists in Beijing.’
Even in the Shaolin Temple, which had already suffered significant damage, the one-armed divine monk appeared in person.
Now that the entire martial arts world knows about this situation, if they hold out until the end, regardless of whether they are good, evil, or the military, they will inevitably suffer great damage to their reputation and reputation.
‘Of course, there are those who remain passive until the end, trying to gain practical benefits rather than such things.’
They won’t last long and will fall apart once everything is sorted out.
Either by the hands of the Martial Arts Alliance, or by my hands.
“What’s left is time.”
A plan that progresses step by step.
During that time, my job was set.
Chin— thud—
Following the busy gestures, things began to pile up on the table one by one.
These are objects that each have an extraordinary energy.
‘Let’s do this properly this time.’
Prepared to use the “Power of Gluttony” most effectively.
These were elixirs from various worlds, including Outerica and Ganghwan-gye, that were obtained from Earth.
