Chapter 74 (1/2)

Encounter

It seemed the ministry spirit even imagined that I could see this map and could remember it flawlessly. Frankly, right after the 3-dimensional map appeared, it was hard to recognize it since my mind was clouded. Of course, thanks to [The Successor’s Eyes], it came back to me in no time.

‘So, it is true that the unique skill of an Awakened cannot be opened.’

At that moment, possibilities pass through my mind.

‘Wait, if that’s so!’

I recalled the SSS-Class item that I received, as an additional reward, after Clearing Siheung 8 Dungeon. [Door of Hope]. The artifact was said to be prepared by the Emperor of the Sebrarian Empire for interdimensional evacuation. I gave up the last time I tried to activate it because I did not have a way to input the exact coordinates. And when I tried to input a random coordinate, the response was that it required an unbelievable amount of Mana.

‘But then, what about the case of a nearby dimension?’

The map that the Ministry Spirit was looking at didn’t seem to contain every single existing dimension. Still, it was a tremendous amount, even only for dimensions near to Earth.

‘What if I input these coordinates in the [Door of Hope]?’

Thanks to the Ministry Spirit, I scored an unexpected victory.

‘I can definitely make good use of this!’

In the early stages of the tutorial, the contact with alien races was minimal, but as the quest progressed, the exchange with nearby dimensions became more frequent. The two dimensions that met each other would relationships, whether friendly, neutral, or hostile. The only passage that the Awakens could travel through the two dimensions was dungeons that had collapsed.

‘That common idea can completely be invalidated!’

The possibility of traveling even to a dimension not connected to a dungeon…

‘If I have to fight with the aliens who were the enemies of Earth. The possibilities of the usage, including spying, ambush, extortion, and assassinations, make it limitless.’

The key was how much core was needed to get to the nearest dimension. Right after memorizing everything, the Ministry Spirit spoke to me.

– Now, the list is as follows.

My eyes were widened by the hologram she opened.

“You’re saying there are that many of them?”

– Yes, it was quite peculiar. Somehow, many of the alien races that were through with the tutorial seem to be interested in this dimension.

She suggested that an Awakened, from a dimension where the tutorial had ended, had visited Earth before I got cursed.

“And all the more, you’re saying that all of them are still on Earth, right?”

– Yes. Looking at their behavioral patterns, I believe some are assigned there with the mission of spying.

Before I heard the Spirit’s words, I was also prepared for the possibility that the perpetrator had gone back to its dimension so there would be no more way to track it down. But their current location, as indicated on the list, was unexpected. Every one of them was still living on the Earth!

‘One or more among them may definitely be related to the curse.’

I had to feel even more ridiculous while I looked closer on the list.

‘While there are aliens hiding without contact with humans, there are aliens who are boldly disguised as humans!’

Some of them were strangers that I’d never heard of in my entire life.

‘What, this guy was an alien?!’

There was also a mix of very famous top-tier hunters. I had never encountered them in my previous life. This was because they went mysteriously missing shortly after Angelica appeared in the world.

‘Could the reason they disappeared so suddenly was because they came into contact with Angelica? Then there’s a good chance these Hunters aren’t the source of the curse. The Awakened that achieved the state to modify a living thing and upgrade the unique skill can’t be considered weaker than the immortal.’

I had one unanswered question. Why did the so-called great alien that stayed on the Earth for a long time let Angelica be in my previous life?

Or… was that situation also intended?

‘I couldn’t find an answer just by thinking alone. I didn’t have any leads.’

Based on the list I’d now obtained, I would find a clear answer if I followed where they lead.

– Well, I’ve given you a list. Next is the item.

“Yes, I’ll tell you what I want.” I calmly recited the list of artifacts. I did not mention the items that I was sure I knew which dungeon I needed to Clear to get my hands on. The ones that I demanded now either had insufficient quantity released, or I’d seen an alien race that used it but was never supplied, on the Earth, in my previous life.

As it was quickly typing down the list I dictated, the Ministry Spirit paused for a moment.

– ······Hold on. You want me to give you five of [Renace’s Ring]?

“The condition was 10 of SS-Class items, not of 10 kinds. You did not mention that it’s not allowed for me to request for multiple quantities of the same item.”

That was a necessary item. In the past life, the alien race that was hostile to the Earth had it, and the strongest of them was wearing it, so we had a lot of trouble.

– Hmm… I can’t do this.

She came out harder than I thought. I tried to protest because it sounded like she was breaking a promise, but I couldn’t help but listen to what followed.

– We only have two of these in stock now.

In stock? It was a word containing many facts. Did it mean that even the system cannot just print out the items as many times as it wished?

“If there is a concept of stock, is there a concept of production as well?”

– It’s something I can’t mention.

She was keeping her mouth shut again, not revealing critical information.

– Once again, a total of 7 items, including the other items and 2 of [Renace’s Ring], can be provided right now. What would you like to do with the other three?

If this happened, this was out of my calculations. I thought about it for a while and made a decision. Okay, let’s hand over the remaining three to the Spirit and the system.

‘Come to think of it, neither [Stardust Wing] nor [Door of Hope] were items that were unknown to have existed. Artifacts that have never been found in my previous life, but they have tremendous performance.’

What they had in common were certain words that appeared in item descriptions.

‘I’m sure there are other items like this. The problem is I don’t know their names.’

But the system would know. Since it was going in this direction, I decided to give it a try.

“I plan to leave the other three to the system.”

– ···Hmm? That’s unexpected. Well, okay. Then for me, I could easily…

“No, wait a minute. There’s a condition,” The Spirit looked at me with a nonchalant expression, “I’ll request 3 of SS-Class items which have the keywords of ‘Sebrarian Empire’ in the item description. When objectively analyzed, it must be of an equal or better performance from [Stardust Wings].”

This was somewhat of a gamble. It left open the interpretation of equal or of better performance to the system.

‘Come on, surprise me.’

– ·······Sebrarian Empire. Oh, my. I feel like I’m starting to hate you since you’re trying to get the best of me.

Hearing that, I thought I was going in the right direction. The Archid text on the screen waved, and the conditions I was talking about seemed to be entered.

And the result immediately came up.

– Here you go.

There were ten lights in front of me. My choice acquired seven items, and the system selected three items. All of them were SS-Class.

– Sigh. Whenever I meet Mr. Seo Jin-wook, it takes too much of my time. I’ve got a lot of work to do right now, and I can’t believe I’m stranded on this one dimension for such a long time.

That being called the Spirit must have been dealing with a large amount of work; whenever it opened its mouth, it was always of the same story.

She glanced at me and said,

– I hope we won’t meet again like this.

I answered with talent, “Next time, I’ll see you after I’ve stopped an S-Class break.”