Chapter 232. Individual Motion (1) (1/2)

“Why are you here?” Shortly after they exchanged greetings, Kim Suho asked curiously.

Jin Seyeon briefly answered, “Because I saw you.”

“…Huh?”

“I saw you, so I came.”

She said so and turned her gaze to me again. I smiled nervously, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

“Haha….”

It was hard to believe that she was my fan, especially because I had used the same excuse before myself, but Jin Seyeon was a good-natured person. It wouldn’t hurt to trust her.

Jin Seyeon asked suddenly, “So, are the two of you looking for an oasis?”

“Yes.”

“Eh? Ah, yes.”

Kim Suho appeared slightly flustered at Jin Seyeon speaking politely with honorifics.

“Mm. Then may I accompany you?”

“Uh….” I hesitated. I knew exactly where the oasis was, and I did intend to split the reward with Kim Suho. But I was a little skeptical about sharing it with Jin Seyeon.

“I don’t need the reward. I simply wish to help you out, as a fan.”

Jin Seyeon added as if she read my mind.

“Ah, yes, if that’s alright with you….”

Then it was fine with me. I nodded and hopped up on Sannuri.

“Let’s go find the oasis.”

—Hiing.

“Follow me.”

I ran ahead with Sannuri. Jin Seyeon and Kim Suho followed close behind, and it took us about 30 minutes to get to the oasis. I had taken detours on purpose, pretending to look for the oasis.

[Congratulations! You are the first to discover an oasis. The reward has been doubled!]

Suddenly, a giant pool of water shot up from the center of the desert.

The pool was an origin of life which brought up many plants in the dry desert and shared vigor with desert animals that occasionally stopped by it.

We stood in front of the oasis that was definitely not a mirage.

[50000TP has been awarded to ‘Extra7’ and two other Players.]

“Eh? I also received 50000TP.”

The reward was handed out immediately, and Jin Seyeon took out 5 bills, each worth 10000TP, to give me.

“No, that’s okay. Please keep them. The real reward is probably something else….”

The reward couldn’t just be TP.

I had a hunch.

I mean, just look at it. An oasis in the middle of nowhere— definitely suspicious.

I also believed in my luck. I couldn’t possibly have discovered an empty can.

“Hajin, where are you going?”

“Hold on.”

I approached the oasis and put my hand in the water. The water was clear and cool, but right now I didn’t have the time to enjoy it.

I activated [Lv.8 Synthesis].

[Synthesis], which was already close to the max level (10), slowly started to absorb the oasis.

The surface of the oasis splattered and its volume dwindled, as opposed to its density which increased. But my spirit power ran out the moment the oasis was reduced to half its original size. So I added in Stigma. Stigma’s magic power synthesized the oasis much more efficiently and aggressively than my spirit power.

“Woah….”

“Wow. You are amazing, Fenrir. Clap clap clap.”

And finally, with Jin Seyeon’s cheer which sounded scripted, every drop of the water in the oasis was compressed into the size of a soccer ball.

“…Found it.”

At the bottom of the oasis, which now lay bare, was an altar, and sitting on top of it was a treasure chest.

I approached the chest without a moment of hesitation.

The chest was locked, but that wasn’t a problem to me.

Click—

I inserted the Mystic Key into the lock, turned it 180 degrees, and the chest easily opened.

Inside, there was a book and a piece of armor.

[Lv. 1 Ultimate Skill Acquisition Book - Complete Understanding of Spirit Power]

[Lv.11 Imhotep’s Leather Armor]

**

[Busan, South Korea — Haeundae]

Meanwhile, Chae Nayun purchased a vacation home in Busan with the money she’d been saving plus her salary from the guild.

She chose Busan for no particular reason. It was just that she kept suffering from headaches in Seoul and thought that maybe a change of environment would serve her well.

But that turned out to be nothing more than a wish. Even in Busan, she rarely had the time to enjoy the new environment or to look after herself.

—Here is the related information.

“….”

It was all because of the regular video calls she had with her informants.

The informants whom Yoo Yeonha had prepared for her were way too diligent. They would send her reports a couple of times each day, and Chae Nayun was completely occupied just trying to make sense of them.

“Is this the information related to ‘that incident’?”

—Yes.

Chae Nayun could see the informant’s face, but the informant couldn’t see Chae Nayun’s face. She started going over the pile of reports that the informant, Kim Hosup, had sent her.

“….”

She examined it scrupulously. Every single cell and neuron in her brain was on fire. The report was thick and complicated, but she tried to make sense of it on her own.

…However, what she would say in the end was already decided.

“Summarize it.”

—Yes.

The informant continued, as if he had already expected her to say so.

—There are so many suspicious points about the murder of Chae Jinyoon. In fact, it’s suspicious that there are so many suspicious points….

The informant’s summary of the Chae Jinyoon Case was as follows:

There were too many suspicious things about the case, which was also the most suspicious thing about it, since the victim was none other than Chae Jinyoon.

Chae Joochul’s grandson was murdered.

So there shouldn’t be anything suspicious, and even if there were, they should already have been resolved.

Yet, although this case caused a stir once, it was called off much too quietly.

—Because of this, there are a lot of conspiracy theories about this case.

“Conspiracy theories?”

—Yes.

This was news to Chae Nayun who had stopped looking at the internet since that day. Well, to be precise, she was cut off not only from the internet but from society as a whole. After all, she had climbed to Baekdu Mountain immediately after her 2nd year at Cube.

“…Explain.”

—Investigators detected a demonic energy storm of high density at the site of the murder. It was also confirmed by the witness that the demonic energy was huge and extremely destructive.

It broke her heart just imagining what her brother had to go through.

He must have been so scared and distressed.

Chae Nayun forced herself to listen to those painful words. She felt as though her gut was rotting, but she knew she had to continue.

“…Right.”

Demonic energy storm. She was able to find out that much even by herself, but nothing beyond that. Strangely enough, her father remained silent about the case and even scolded her every time she showed the slightest intention of investigating the incident.

—As you know, demonic energy is similar to magic power in that they both have something called ‘signatures’. So by analyzing the demonic energy at the site, we can learn how many people were present at the scene.

Chae Nayun had also learned this theory at Cube. It was something about magic power being able to work like fingerprints.

—According to the investigators, only one demonic energy signature was found at the scene. Nonetheless, the prosecutors concluded that Chae Jinyoon was kidnapped and murdered by a ‘Djinn group’. Two theories can explain why.

The informant continued slowly, step-by-step in detail so that even Chae Nayun could understand.

—The first theory: Chae Jinyoon really was murdered by Djinns. This is what Chae Joochul has officially announced to the public. But a question remains. Djinns like to operate in groups, so why was only one demonic energy signature detected?

“No, that’s wrong. There’s no way it was a Djinn ‘group’.”

Chae Nayun interrupted the informant.

There might have been a Djinn accomplice, but Kim Hajin certainly wasn’t a Djinn. If he was, he would have given off the unpleasant aura characteristic to Djinns. There was no way that Chae Nayun, with her exceptional instincts, would have missed that.

“Anyways, cross that out and give me the next theory.”

—But the next theory is even more bizarre.

“What is it? Tell me.”

One of the two theories was invalid.

Then the remaining one should at least be closer to the truth.

…However.

—Chae Jinyoon was a Djinn. That’s the theory.

The moment she heard those words, Chae Nayun’s heart sank.

—The theory is that Chae Jinyoon was a Djinn, and that the Association intervened to dispose of him. This is what the supporters of the theories say.

Chae Nayun didn’t say anything. She had ceased thinking completely, as if a switch inside her had been pulled down.

—A number of Djinns would have been needed to carry out an operation of this size and level. However, as I said, only one demonic energy signature was detected at the scene. Also, there was no sign of demonic energy at the hospital, from which Chae Jinyoon was kidnapped….

“Don’t—”

Chae Nayun clenched her teeth and interrupted him. Countless words lingered in her mouth. They were all swear words filled with rage, but she suppressed her anger down her throat.

—Pardon?

“…Don’t say things like that.”

She mustn’t get angry. The informant was not at fault. In fact, he didn’t even know who she was.

Chae Nayun let out a deep sigh and continued.

“That’s impossible, so look at things from a different angle. For example… a combined organization of humans and Djinns? Something like that.”

— Yes, understood.

“Okay. Good work. As for your performance-based bonus….”

The limited edition of ‘ReOrient Nox’, a game released in 1992. She had put in quite a bit of effort to secure a copy of this rare game for her informant. she had managed to secure a copy of this ‘artifact’ only after utilizing all of her personal connections and paying 1.5 billion won.

Chae Nayun sent the game data over to the informant.

“…Here it is.”

—Huk! This is… the famous Reorient Nox-chan.

“Continue your good work.”

—Arigato! I’ll try my best!

The call ended with the informant gasping in surprise.

“Haa….”

Then, everything became quiet. In the silence, Chae Nayun sighed and buried herself in a chair.

…She couldn’t even properly speak because she was so dumbfounded.

“Why would anyone on the internet come up with such bullshit?”

Whoever he is, he deserves to be sued.

How could anyone even imagine my brother was a Djinn?

He was the most righteous man in the world.

He was smarter, cooler, better looking, and stronger than me….

“Ha, that shit totally ruined my mood.”

Chae Nayun turned her computer on to play a game in order to prevent herself from getting depressed. The game was a MMORPG titled ‘Leaf Story’.

Pa—!

Pa—!

However, she turned it off after playing it for only 15 minutes.

It was boring.

In fact, most games had become dull after the ‘Tower of Wish’. It was fun hunting monsters, collecting items, and raising item levels in the Tower. It was all thanks to that fun that she continued to live her life even at a slow pace.

“Mnnnn….”