Episode 84
“This is truly unbelievable.”
Choi Hyun-seok looked around with a hollow laugh.
Suddenly, I was in an unfamiliar forest and wondered what was going on, and it turned out to be 100km away from the black giant.
It flew this far with just a snap of the fingers.
I knew Hemis was strong, but I couldn’t help but be surprised whenever I saw such out-of-spec strength.
“The commander was kind enough to show his favor.”
Royger, who was standing next to me, said, putting the map in his bosom.
“What do you mean by convenience?” “If you go about 30km in this direction, you will reach the Dritmon Fortress. From there, you can just use the space movement gate.”
As it turned out, there was another fortress nearby.
It was a consideration that Hemis could walk a little bit.
“Then let’s set off.”
The journey to Fort Dritmon was over in no time.
30km on foot may seem like a long distance, but Choi Hyun-seok and Royger are not ordinary people.
Abelson, who was the next saint, also boasted physical abilities that were overwhelmingly greater than those of most humans.
Thanks to that, the group arrived at the entrance to the Dritmon Fortress in just two hours.
Choi Hyun-seok looked at the fortress with a calm expression.
“It’s much smaller than the black giant.”
I had been looking forward to going to another fortress for the first time, but Dritmon Fortress didn’t seem to have much to see.
It seemed to be only about a quarter the size of the black giant.
“Of course. The Black Giant is the largest castle in the entire Demon King’s army, so any fortress that is compared to the Black Giant will inevitably be dwarfed.” “Then is it bigger than the castle the Demon King resides in?” “Well… if we just look at the scale, it’s probably similar or maybe a little bigger.” “Wow, when I said it was unrealistically large, it really was no joke.”
Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes opened wide.
I knew the Black Giant was big, but it’s not even inferior to the Demon King’s Castle.
Leaving behind the surprised Choi Hyun-seok.
Roiger approached the soldier guarding the entrance to the fortress.
A soldier with a goldfish head blocked the way.
“Who are you?”
“It’s Roiger. Commander, I need you to use the space movement gate to carry out your mission. Please guide me.”
Royger held out a nameplate with the seal of the 3rd Corps commander.
The goldfish soldier blinks after receiving the name tag.
Choi Hyun-seok watched the scene quietly from behind.
‘I don’t think that kid knows that.’
No matter how I look at it, I don’t trust the goldfish head at all.
The goldfish, which had hesitated for a moment, guided the group.
“Oh, I see! Follow me!”
Choi Hyun-seok was certain of it from the look of confusion on the guy’s face.
‘You’re going along scared because it’s the commander’s order without even knowing what it is.’
I have no evidence, but I am certain.
That goldfish is stupid.
After a while, we arrive in front of the space travel gate.
Another soldier manning the gate guided the group.
The soldier operated the gate and said.
“I’ve set the coordinates to Todun Fortress. From there, head to the 2nd Corps Headquarters, the Magic Tower.”
Choi Hyun-seok was puzzled after hearing the explanation.
“Mr. Roiger. Shouldn’t we be going straight to the 2nd Corps Headquarters?” “For security reasons, the 2nd Corps Headquarters can only be accessed from a designated location.”
“aha.”
It was unexpected.
You’re talking about security when you’re in the Demon King’s Army.
‘I don’t think there was anything like that on the Black Giant?’
Choi Hyun-seok scratched his head and followed Roger.
Abelson also follows them silently.
So, we pass through the space gate and arrive at the Todun Fortress.
A similar process continued there.
Roger holds out his nameplate.
When I told him my destination, the soldier in charge came out.
But there was one thing that was different from before.
‘Is he really a soldier? He’s almost a battalion commander.’
The level of the soldier in charge of guiding us is quite strong.
At first glance, it looked like just a big rat.
Even that is about 1.5m tall, almost like a goblin.
However, the magical energy flowing out of him was unusual.
Even without using a combat power meter, Choi Hyun-seok could tell that the soldier was a formidable force.
The soldier stood in front of Roiger and opened his mouth.
“Click! What is the purpose of your visit!?” “It is an order from the 3rd Corps Commander.” “Click! State your exact purpose. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to pass.”
The soldier was even smart.
He asked various questions in a fluent manner, unusual for a member of the Demon King’s Army, and carefully checked the nameplate that Royger had handed him.
And he was holding some documents and reading something.
Considering that most of the Demon King’s army could not read, he was an incredibly intelligent guy.
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The soldier nodded, as if he had followed all the procedures.
“Pass. Follow me. Click!”
The group was guided to a separate space movement gate on one side.
It was a gate leading directly to the 2nd Corps headquarters.
“Then go.”
“yes.”
Pass through the gate with magic rippling on its surface.
A strange sensation that you can’t get used to no matter how many times you repeat it.
Choi Hyun-seok frowned and raised his head, feeling his stomach churn.
The scenery before his eyes naturally comes into view, and Choi Hyun-seok’s eyes open wide.
“Wow…”
The 2nd Corps headquarters greeted him in a completely unexpected way.
***
Choi Hyun-seok’s mouth fell open.
It was because of the huge building that filled my view as soon as I came out of the gate.
“This is amazing.”
“This is the famous magic tower…”
Abelson was also surprised, as he kept looking up at the tower.
The 2nd Corps headquarters was a tower, as its name suggests, the Magic Tower.
But the height is unusual.
A tower that soars high as if it were piercing the sky.
It was so incredibly tall that it reminded me of the L Tower in Korea.
“Crackle! A visitor!”
The soldiers who had been waiting nearby approached.
Choi Hyun-seok narrowed his eyes when he saw them.
‘It’s a rat again?’
Just like the soldier who guided the gate a little while ago, the soldiers who came out this time all had a rat-like appearance.
“Tick! Please identify yourself.” “I’m Roiger from the 3rd Corps Headquarters.”
Royger held out the name tag he was carrying.
The soldier who confirmed it bowed his head.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Click! I’ll show you right away.”
Although the constant squeaking is annoying, it is polite.
The soldier guided the group straight away, as if he had already made contact.
Choi Hyun-seok snickered as if he was being sarcastic.
“It’ll end up being simpler than I thought.” “It’s a simple task that involves just transporting things. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
I had originally thought I would have to wait at least a day to get the necessary materials, but it seemed like that wasn’t necessary.
At the place we arrived at following the soldier’s guide, there was a magic circle.
“Click! A magic circle that will take you straight to the Commander’s room.”
“hmm?”
For a moment, Roger’s eyebrows twitched.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding. We did not come here to see the commander. We came here to see the spatial interference magic field…” “I know. The items needed to create the magic field will have to wait about a day.”
“Then why?”
Do I really have to meet with the commander for something that can be resolved by just waiting?
The answer to the question was simple.
“The commander is waiting. The human behind you.”
The soldier raised his finger and pointed behind Roiger.
Choi Hyun-seok, who was on the path, slightly moved to the side.
I thought maybe he was referring to Abelson behind him.
But, annoyingly, his fingers moved along with Choi Hyun-seok.
“Um… you mean me?” “Yes. Click! Come on up.”
“Yeah. Well…”
What should I do if the commander calls me?
If you want to be picky, you have to be picky.
Choi Hyun-seok felt something was off, but he had no choice.
He stood on the magic circle.
Roiger and Abelson come up and stand next to each other.
“Is Mr. Royger coming with you?” “Yes. If something goes wrong, I have to report it to Mr. Hemis.” “…Don’t say such unlucky things.” “Who would think that someone would do it because they wanted to?”
In fact, Royger had a very tired expression on his face.
It gave off a strong vibe that I didn’t want to follow but was forced to.
‘I hope nothing happens…’
Roiger had heard rumors about the 2nd Corps commander.
‘A psycho scientist who enjoys conducting biological experiments…’
He said that although his military power was inferior to that of other legion commanders, no one ignored him.
Royger hopes this encounter will just be a passing fad, but that seems unlikely.
At that moment, he sighed at the increasing anxiety.
The magic circle on the floor began to glow brightly.
***
The magic circle on the floor glows.
The commander of the 2nd Army Corps, Rotak, smiled slyly.
‘You’re finally here!’
Recently, rumors about Choi Hyun-seok have been spreading quickly in the upper echelons of the Demon King’s Army.
Because he was the only survivor in the battalion commander tournament that everyone’s eyes were on.
“They say he’s a unique human who uses magic while being a warrior.” “A human using magic is absurd.” “Hmm, I wonder what Lord Hemis is up to again…” “There’s a rumor that he went from being a common soldier to a battalion commander in just a few months.”
In fact, Rotak had been keeping an eye on Choi Hyun-seok long before the rumors began to spread.
A case that has never appeared before.
Interest in humans who handle magic grew with each passing day.
At that moment, I received a call from the 3rd Corps Commander, Hemis.
“Do you remember Choi Hyun-seok that I told you about before? I’ll send him there, so just check on his condition. Don’t kill him.”
It was not specifically said what state he was looking at and how.
This means that it will be left to Rotak’s discretion.
He could already feel his body heating up.
‘A human who uses magic! His body is also becoming a demon?’
The research area that Rotak has been focusing on recently is chimeras.
Among these, physical transformation and fusion through magic are the most important tasks.
Choi Hyun-seok could be said to be the best data and sample in this study.
However, one thing that is regrettable is that Choi Hyun-seok is Hemis’ subordinate.
‘Tsk, should I just do it? I’m worried.’
The ancient monster hates having its things touched.
With all the ominous rumors going around these days, I didn’t want to get involved in something useless.
I was afraid that there might be a problem with the research.
Because if Hemis threw a tantrum, the magic tower might collapse.
Woof!
After a brief moment of deliberation, the group arrived at the location where Lotak was.
A strange demon standing on a magic circle
One and two humans.
Rotak frowns at the divine power he feels momentarily.
Then, when he saw Choi Hyun-seok, he smiled brightly as if nothing had happened.
“Meet the Commander of the 2nd Corps.”
Royger, who was at the very front, bowed his head and greeted them as a representative.
Rotak pretended not to hear.
His gaze was fixed only on Choi Hyun-seok.
Her bright red eyes grew so big they looked like they were going to pop out, and the corners of her mouth were torn so much that they hung over her ears.
“This is… really something!”
***
Choi Hyun-seok was standing there, sweating profusely.
“Crack, crack…!”
A giant rat was circling around him, squeaking all the time.
‘Is the commander a rat too?’
As I had expected, the commander of the 2nd Corps, Rotak, also had a rat-like appearance.
The only difference is that, unlike the soldiers with dark fur, their fur is pure white and shiny.
He was even wearing a pure white gown like a doctor.
He was also much larger than the other soldiers.
Height over 2m.
Even though it was on the smaller side compared to the average Demon King’s army, it felt like there was a strange sense of intimidation, perhaps because of the title of Legion Commander.
‘It’s like the lab rat has grown huge.’
Suddenly, a third-rate movie I saw some time ago comes to mind.
It was about giant mutant rats that were experimented on and ate all the scientists and used humans as test subjects.
The main character of that movie looked exactly like the Rotak before my eyes.
“Crackle! This is the best! I’ve never seen anything like this in my 400 years of life!” “The balance between magic and the body is so exquisite! Was this a coincidence?” “No. It’s still in progress. Crackle! If we keep going like this, it won’t take too long.”
Rotak continued to mutter something unintelligible.
He suddenly stopped and stared at Choi Hyun-seok.
“Human. Your name is Choi Hyun-seok?” “Yes! Commander Lotak!”
Choi Hyun-seok answered with a lot of spirit.
“Hold on a second.”
“yes?”
Instead of answering, Rotak placed a hand on Choi Hyun-seok’s shoulder.
At the same time, a creepy magic began to flow out from the place where they touched.
Choi Hyun-seok took a deep breath.
‘What is this…!?’
The feeling of Rotak’s magic sweeping over my body was indescribably disgusting.
If I had to describe it, it felt like there were thousands or tens of thousands of bugs crawling inside my body.
Although he wanted to immediately shake off Rotak’s hand, Choi Hyun-seok desperately endured.
‘The opponent is the commander. You have to endure it.’
The lab rat in front of you is the commander of the Demon King’s army.
He is a strong man who can blow away Choi Hyun-seok’s head with just one gesture.
You should never touch the plant.
That’s why Choi Hyun-seok quietly waited for Rotak’s observation to end.
Cold sweat began to pour down from his body like rain.
‘I can’t hold on any longer…’
When Choi Hyun-seok’s mental strength reached its limit, Rotak let go.
Choi Hyun-seok barely managed to come to his senses, panting for breath.
“Ugh, ugh…”
The floor was soaked with Choi Hyun-seok’s sweat.
It only lasted 30 seconds since Rotak touched it.
Choi Hyun-seok looked extremely exhausted, as if he had just fought a battle for his life.
‘I’d rather get beaten up by Raidrun for 30 minutes…’
It was such a terrifying 30 seconds.
Choi Hyun-seok raised his head with difficulty.
He saw Rotak looking at him and smiling.
“Human! Your mental power is quite good! Very good!” “W-Thank you…”
“I guess your mental strength can’t be ignored when it comes to your body enduring hardships. This is fun. Hit!”
Rotak rubbed his hands together as if he couldn’t contain his excitement.
Choi Hyun-seok is seen flustered in red eyes filled with mischief.
“But, human. Do you know that?” “What are you talking about…” “If you keep doing this, you’ll die.”
“yes?”
Are you saying I’m going to die all of a sudden without any context?
But it was too early to be surprised.
Because the words that followed were even more spectacular.
“There’s not much time left. Crack! I’ll be dead in three months at the most.”
He was given a terminal diagnosis without warning.
