My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness Chapter 48

Advance Preparation (2)

Korean Repatriates Association, Seoul Southern Branch.

Knock knock— clank!

“Branch Manager, regarding the branch store installation you instructed last time······Branch Manager?”

The secretary, who was entering the branch manager’s office holding the payment documents, stopped for a moment.

Branch manager Jiyoon Yoon was frowning and staring intently at the computer screen.

“Oh, Secretary Kim is here? Bring it here.”

His gaze was still fixed on the screen.

“Branch Manager. Did anything happen at the meeting today?”

Today was the day of the regular virtual meeting for branch managers and above, and Secretary Kim had just come after hearing that it had ended a little while ago.

“If it’s an incident, then it is an incident… but isn’t it ambiguous?”

“What does it mean to be ambiguous···?”

“There’s a blood oath, right?”

She looked up from the computer screen and looked at her secretary.

Secretary Kim nodded in agreement.

“Yes, it’s a group of Korean vampires. I heard they haven’t done anything big yet… Are you sure it was the hardliners who did it?”

“It’s a big deal, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Maybe?”

“yes?”

“The moderates won. They are purging the hardliners’ leaders and absorbing the remnants. Alpha’s whereabouts are unknown.”

Secretary Kim looked at the branch manager with a trembling expression.

“Is that possible? I heard the power difference is quite large.”

“That’s right. What happened?”

The Returners’ Association, or Guardians, had been keeping an eye on the Blood Pact for a long time.

It’s a natural thing to do from the standpoint of maintaining public order.

So I knew more about them than I thought, and I was able to quickly notice this change.

“I guess we should try to talk to them first. They’ve helped us a lot so far.”

In fact, the returnee association has been secretly supporting the moderates by providing blood through blood centers.

The government’s Ability Management Bureau wants to control them, but from the standpoint of maintaining public order on the front lines, it is better to maintain friendly relations with the moderates.

It has been an effective means so far, as it can reduce potential enemies in an already short-handed environment and has the effect of keeping radical hardliners in check.

I don’t know what will happen in the future, but it will be better than the hardliners gaining power.

Now, I couldn’t help but hope so.

“I hope it doesn’t get any busier here···.”

“What I mean is···.”

Otherwise, the already huge workload will only increase.

***

Heinz II opened his eyes quietly.

A forest that seemed familiar yet unfamiliar greeted him.

A dense forest that remains unchanged.

Only he was different then.

“Nothing has changed here since then.”

This is where he first arrived in Auterica.

It was the Forest of Demons that was the starting point.

‘Because right now this is the best place to hide and do research.’

The Oath of the Reverse had completely disappeared from the vicinity, and the vampires had no time to pay attention to the forest, having lost Ajantu, the nearest city to this place.

And the church had already been neglected after being torn apart once, so it was truly a no man’s land.

‘There’s a limit to how much we can monitor in this vast forest. The surrounding monsters will serve as test subjects and natural fences, so there’s no better place to conduct quiet research.’

Heinz flew deep into the forest.

The monsters around him couldn’t even detect his presence, so he was able to move around comfortably.

‘I can feel the difference in generations. At first, it felt like I was fighting a monster for my life.’

Was the guy you fought back then a black panther?

To Heinz now, he was no better than a neighborhood dog.

It took a while to move like that.

He finally stopped in front of a cave and looked around.

“This place would be about right.”

A location that is not easily noticeable, the distribution of monsters living in the surrounding area, and even a cave with a wide space that is good for research.

It was a perfect place to set up a secret laboratory.

“First of all, I think it would be best to ask for the understanding of the residents who have already settled in.”

Heinz entered the cave confidently.

And after a while.

He was able to use his abundant blood without reserve to set up a barrier.

A barrier built with the “mystery of blood”, and an aura of “concealment” embedded throughout it.

Primary preparations have been completed.

A few days passed like that···.

Phew—

Inside the cave, the walls are covered with bizarre patterns made of blood.

In the middle of it all, darkness suddenly fell.

[Phew···.]

A person wearing black robes and scattering pitch-black energy.

It was Hans.

[Hmm, I guess I should hurry.]

As soon as the transmission was made, Hans immediately moved.

Although he had already been wrapped in a cloak to hide his entire body, it was more certain to set up a barrier.

He carefully used his black magic to carve a new shape into the floor of the wall with the bloody pattern engraved on it.

The work of constructing a barrier is carried out at a rapid pace.

Heinz, who had been waiting inside the cave, also joined in and added the power of “concealment” to it.

All sorts of barriers, such as black magic concealment, spatial distortion, cognitive impairment, and undetectable effects, filled the interior of the cave.

As proof of the growth over the years, the effects of “The Path of Magic” were far superior to before.

[I think I’ve done enough. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what the results are.]

Although I was confident that it was a collaboration between Hans and Heinz that they had done their best, I was still not at the point where I could feel at ease because I didn’t know what the limits of the saint were.

They will be able to see the effects quickly since they have the best source of information.

It only took a day to find out the results.

“Hello, Saintess. You don’t look so good today. What’s wrong?”

“Ah… Hello, Sir Heinrich. I… have something bothering me. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it.”

The saint’s reaction, as confirmed through Heinrich, allowed him to know that she had not figured out Hans’ location.

There was no movement to summon a punitive force, only a slightly frustrated expression.

‘Still, it’s amazing. Even though I blocked it so thoroughly, it seems like I detected Hans’s presence.’

Although Hans only felt that he was in Outerica, he couldn’t even pinpoint the general location.

In many ways, the effort was worth it.

‘Anyway, I guess I can start my research in earnest with this. If anything changes, I’ll be able to let Heinrich know.’

Hans immediately took out the materials and began studying them.

Since I had some free time, I took my time and looked at it step by step.

When I first considered the path of ‘Harley’, I had many concerns.

The most important of these was to follow the path of the mine, just like the other two avatars.

It was a natural choice since they had no choice but to grow faster.

‘The first thing that was considered was a werewolf.’

A werewolf whose potential grows by eating the hearts of prey it catches, the official name here being lycanthrope.

But it wasn’t a bad choice, since there were plenty of ways to get around it ‘directly’.

Because my great seniors were able to help me in some way.

‘But the potential only grows, and the rise isn’t as dramatic as that of a vampire. Also, the tendencies seem to overlap too much. That’s why I put it on hold for now.’

In Outerica, lycanthropes were a minority race that was ostracized due to their ferocious nature, unlike beastmen, so their activities were inevitably restricted.

It was while I was worrying about this that I discovered this research data.

It was commonly called the ‘Completely Evolved Organism Project’.

Although it had some similarities to chimera research, it had very different goals.

The goal was not to simply forcibly add a different species of body, but to continuously evolve the body by absorbing only superior genes.

‘You can also transform into a werewolf in times of emergency!’

No matter how much I thought about it, transformation was an element that was too good to miss.

That romanticism… no, it was a groundbreaking discovery that allowed us to eliminate the disadvantages of lycanthropy while maintaining its advantages.

‘The basis of it is this ‘hemorrhage’.’

Hans took out a vial containing a jewel-like liquid with a purple tint and shook it.

The blood of a predatory dragon that exists in the Lauveda dimension.

Predatory dragons were among the highest in Lauveda, a dimension where numerous dragons and dragon hunters existed.

The worst dragon that continues to evolve by displaying the characteristics of the opponent it has eaten.

It continues to evolve as long as it survives, eventually becoming an apex predator with no natural enemies.

‘···It was written in the research report.’

The Buncheonhoe began research on using the characteristics of predatory dragons through their blood.

[The amount of blood is a bit small, but what’s important is the characteristics contained in that blood, so it doesn’t matter.]

When I searched the head of the research institute’s head, there was also content about competition with other branches, so it seems that he probably shared blood with several branches and conducted research simultaneously.

The question here was whether Hans could alone achieve the goal that even the Byeoncheonhoe, who was proficient in numerous magic techniques, could not achieve.

Even if Hans had all the skills he needed, completing this research would have been difficult.

[Kuhehe… Of course, this body has no intention of completing the research, so it’s a good problem.]

Yes, there was no need for him to ‘complete’ his research perfectly.

All I wanted was to strengthen Harley, so just make it usable.

I acknowledge their connection through various sorcery techniques.

However, the research journal that went through that process is still here, and Hans’ “Forbidden Knowledge” contains all sorts of information that even the Buncheonhoe does not know.

And crucially···.

Thud thud—

Harley suddenly appeared from one side of the cave and walked towards me.

Before I knew it, the cooldown had passed and I was able to use the transmission skill again.

All sorts of subspace magic tools, such as a large backpack and crossbody bag draped over Harley’s body, and bracelets and necklaces.

Inside were numerous materials obtained from Tarak.

[We have a perfect test subject here.]

Even if problems arise during the experiment, he can endure with his tenacious vitality through “adaptation” and “super recovery”, and he will unconditionally cooperate with any harsh experiment and never go crazy.

Since the experimenter and the subject are mentally connected, even subtle changes in the subject’s body can be immediately detected and reflected in the experiment.

‘There’s no need to produce universal results. As long as it can be used only on Harley, that’s fine.’

It was also very enjoyable to be able to intercept their research results and use them first.

[Okay, shall we begin?]

So Hans and Harley began working together as researcher and test subject.

***

The Grand Shrine of Roselia on a sunny afternoon.

“······He is the sword and shield that protects the people, so I appoint Heinrich Landgard as a holy knight of the main church.”

A knighthood ceremony was held in a chapel there, in which Henry participated.

In the process, he received the surname ‘Landguard’ from the church, and now became ‘Sir Heinrich Landguard’.

Beautiful sunlight streaming through colorful stained glass, a gentle atmosphere in the solemn chapel.

Even the Archbishop, with a kind smile, put the symbol of a knight around his neck.

It was a sacred scene, as if painted in a painting.

《The entity has achieved enlightenment by achieving the conditions. It acquires the special skill “Blessing: Leap.”》

Until a random system window blocked my sight.

“Hmm? Oh! What a blessing! To be blessed at the inauguration! The Lord is looking down on me!”

Divine power that instantly emanates from Heinrich’s body.

The archbishop who had given the holy sign to the kneeling man exclaimed in admiration when he saw it.

Then he looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and began to pray.

Naturally, other people who were observing the inauguration ceremony joined in, and in an instant, the situation grew larger and a sudden prayer meeting was held.

Except me.

‘···When will I wake up?’

It’s good to be ordained as a knight and it’s good to receive a new blessing, but I don’t know how to react because the order of events has changed.

But I felt that it would be a waste to just sit still, so I quietly clasped my hands together and assumed a praying posture.

“···The Lord looks upon the earth and guides the poor···.”

And I organized my thoughts against the backdrop of the prayer led by the archbishop.

There was one thing very special about this blessing.

‘It was only for a moment, but I could clearly feel the will of the Lord.’

It is also surprising that the Lord himself gave a blessing during the inauguration ceremony, and it was like being connected to the Lord in an instant, just like when you were first baptized.

Although it was a much shorter moment than that time.

Thanks to that, he was able to find out that the Lord still found him interesting.

‘Why? Because I came from another world? It’s not just because of simple curiosity. I didn’t feel any such human emotions.’

In fact, the feeling of ‘interest’ was nothing more than an arbitrary interpretation of what I felt.

That great will was so great that it felt dizzying just from seeing a glimpse of it.