Chapter 333

It was a quiet journey.

Cheon Kyujin glanced at Name, who was sitting in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

The child was resting her face against the window, softly dozing.

The salty sea breeze that entered through the cracks in the window brushed gently against her hair.

As he turned his head again, an expansive landscape unfolded in front of him.

Lining both sides of the road, Metasequoia trees stood firmly like sentinels.

Sunlight filtering through the rustling leaves landed on the black asphalt, making the road shine like obsidian.

[I just know. Even if you ask me where I learned it, it has been in my head from the beginning.]

When he heard those words, Cheon Kyujin’s face twisted seriously.

What exactly is Name’s identity?

What kind of research was Valpurgis conducting in Korea?

What are the limits of the knowledge she possesses?

He handed the driving over to the AI and pondered for a long time, but no conclusion emerged.

Whatever it was, Name is Name. It was indeed a pathetic conclusion.

After passing through a road where not a single car was visible, the horizon greeted them.

Clouds floating in the clear sky shimmered with pastel pink under the morning sunlight.

To the left was a calm river, and to the right was a tumultuous Yellow Sea as they made their way past the embankment road toward the power plant.

In the center stood a bizarre stone structure resembling an upside-down umbrella, surrounded by four towering towers.

A colorless barbed wire stretched out endlessly.

Nationally important facility grade ‘A.’

A facility that must be secured even at the cost of the presidential office and the National Assembly in times of war.

Three military bases and 1,000 police officers were stationed there.

Cheon Kyujin briefly stopped the car in front of the barricade.

When he glanced back, Name had already opened her eyes and was quietly staring outside.

At the same time, guards wrapped in mana barriers rushed over from the guardhouse.

“Please confirm your identity.”

As he handed over the pass, the man bent at a 90-degree angle.

Sending a radio signal that a VIP had arrived, a thick metal gate lifted slightly off the ground and moved aside.

Cheon Kyujin started the engine and grabbed the steering wheel.

He drove toward the center of the power plant, passing through an area that wasn’t even on the map.

Vroom—

A slight vibration could be felt from the car seat.

At the same time, a gray smoke billowed out from the massive stone structure.

Sparks of many colors burst among the clouds, creating a spectacular display as lightning struck upward.

Name knelt down to absorb the beautiful scenery.

The place they ultimately arrived at was the eastern tower, 20 stories high.

The power plant premises were so desolate that not even an ant could be seen, though a person looked like an ant far off in the distance.

An old man with a hunched back approached, cane in hand, from the entrance of the building.

The figure in the white robe was unmistakably Baek Bong Gon.

“Why were you waiting outside?”

“I thought I was going to die of boredom! They wouldn’t let me in without you!”

At Cheon Kyujin’s question, his face crinkled angrily as he shouted.

* * *

“Wow, this storage tower is huge, isn’t it? It’s my first time seeing it up close.”

“They say it’s the fifth largest in the world.”

“The largest must be those guys in the Middle East, right?”

“That’s right.”

He heard the conversation between Professor Cheon and Baek Hoonjang from behind.

The building that looks like an upside-down umbrella is called the “Storage Tower.”

The concept of storage learned in the fifth level of magic originated here.

It’s a tower that extracts and stores mana particles, hence the name storage tower.

I wouldn’t disagree if someone said it doesn’t look like a tower at all.

In fact, the real towers that look like towers are the four cylindrical buildings where the employees of the magic power plant work.

The exposed pillars on the ground serve as a mana barrier that protects the entire power plant.

The main body of the power plant was underneath the buildings.

They stepped into a peculiar structure consisting of three floors above ground and thirty floors below.

Although the number of floors is such, the height above and below ground is almost the same at 120m.

While waiting for the elevator, Baek Hoonjang continuously engaged Professor Cheon in conversation.

“Just what kind of amazing magic are you trying to wield to rent out a whole power plant?”

“Officially it’s for the fifth circle.”

“So you must be casting some dimension descent or something?”

Professor Cheon fell silent and turned his gaze toward me.

It meant that if I wanted to ask more, I should direct my questions toward him.

Baek Hoonjang and I didn’t have that much familiarity, so the conversation ended there.

[Underground floor 21.]

He met with the haggard-looking government officials, filled out bothersome contracts, and went through several procedures.

It didn’t take as long as he thought it would take just to quickly use magic and leave.

Ultimately, the state is most wary of any individual holding too much mana resource.

Entering with empty hands and leaving with empty hands turned out to be surprisingly not a big issue.

All the mana stones used would be discarded anyway.

Finally, after registering the withdrawal account, he paid a deposit of 21 billion won, which is 10% of the planned amount.

Having taken over the storage process from the power plant, they emerged back above ground and exited the building.

“By the way, aren’t there any lab-like places in this power plant?”

“There’s no need for a laboratory in a power plant. It would be a disaster if a dangerous incident happens, right?”

Upon hearing that, I couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

If there were such things, the National Intelligence Service would have come to bother the staff every day.

I was reminded again that the significance of civil servants is not about advancing the nation but working hard to maintain it.

Professor Cheon took a tent out of the trunk of the car and set it up on a patch of sunny grass.

Now, all preparations were complete.

As long as they remained within the premises of the power plant, they could charge mana stones anywhere without limit.

Though the mana particles inside the storage tower were more than sufficient, charging too quickly would overwhelm the mana stones.

The charging had to be done slowly over the course of 36 hours.

I laid out the green-glass-glossed Moldavite mana stones neatly on the ground.

Additionally, I took out the mana stones that Eborum had obtained for me.

Though they looked like ordinary stones, they were actually Hypatia meteors born from a supernova.

Just the lightest touch on my skin caused my internal mana to be rapidly absorbed.

I shook my hands vigorously to shake off the tingling sensation.

I drew a round magic circle in front of my knees with the first mana stone.

[Cast: Circuit Reconstruction]

Setting the mana stone to its lowest base state, I input the coordinates given by the power plant staff as the supply source.

As long as the magic circle existed, mana would naturally flow from high-potential areas to low.

A subtle green light emanated from the raw stone.

I notified outside the tent that preparations were complete.

As I turned, I only needed to provide periodic mana to ensure that the magic circle kept functioning without interruption.

“Now, who will start first… hmm?”

Baek Hoonjang, sitting in a camping chair, suddenly jumped up and shouted.

“36 hours? Why does it take so long for something like this?”

“I already explained, didn’t I? It’ll take about a day.”

“I didn’t know that ‘a day’ meant a full night without sleep.”

“Anyway, since we’ve come all this way, we can’t back out. Please help me just this once.”

“Is the father and daughter duo insane? You must be determined to drain the old man dry, haven’t you?”

Baek Hoonjang grumbled but still took off his shoes and entered the tent.

He hopped up onto the chair, which he’d warmed up, and sat down.

With the sunrise, the March breeze felt refreshing.

“Dad, have you ever gone camping?”

“Hmm. I did it often when I went to the Middle East.”

“Not during your time as a veteran…”

I intended to start a light conversation, but it abruptly turned serious.

If I went that far, I could say that I had done it countless times in my past life.

“Well, I guess I haven’t done it for leisure…”

“I thought you liked hiking too, so you’d like fishing or camping as well.”

“I like fishing channels.”

“Why would you enjoy watching someone else?”

“Isn’t it the same for your viewers, who enjoy watching Name play games?”

I applauded at the witty response and nodded.

Just then, a popping sound came from inside the tent.

Boom-!

“Whoa! What’s happening, Mr. Hoonjang?”

“I’m fine! I just haven’t handled high-purity mana stones in a while, so I’m not used to it!”

“Be careful; if it stops midway, you may have to start over from the beginning. So please be a little more careful.”

“You little brat…! Ugh, fine.”

“I’ll switch you in two hours.”

If it were something that could be done lightly, everyone would just have stayed inside the tent for companionship.

But this task requires utmost concentration.

Reminding him of that, I resumed my conversation with Professor Cheon.

The mundane small talk made the time fly by quickly.

After his sabbatical year this year, Professor Cheon returned to Korea University.

In that time, my fame had spread so excessively that even Professor Cheon had inadvertently become a celebrity.

“I think I’ll need more signatures.”

“Huh? More?”

“I give out our daughter’s signature more often than my business cards.”

“You’ll have to deal with it, good luck.”

The topics of conversation continued to spiral out of control until we veered off the tracks.

Professor Cheon suddenly mentioned a fan meeting.

“So how many rejections are on hold now?”

“What? Ah, that’s all a joke. There’s really only one. You’ve heard from the principal, haven’t you?”

“That one also rejected you?”

“I kindly persuaded her and sent her away.”

“Could you just subtly tell me who that was?”

“No. I promised I would keep my privacy. And I’m not as popular as you think; my appearance is a bit intimidating.”

“Name, you?”

“Why?”

“Ha ha ha!”

Professor Cheon burst into laughter uncontrollably.

I blinked in confusion, still not understanding why he found it so funny.

Even when I asked him why, I couldn’t get an answer.

* * *

Only at 2 AM could I fill two mana stones with mana.

We moved the position of the mana stones outside.

The remaining people had to sleep, as there was still a long way to go.

* * *

It was a morning where not a single bird’s song could be heard.

Unfortunately, the birds trying to invade the power plant ended up roasted on the spot.

According to the employees, if there’s a meaty smell near the fence, it’s definitely the smell of bird meat.

Professor Cheon quickly resolved breakfast with abalone porridge he bought from the convenience store.

Thanks to the adults’ consideration, I was able to sleep peacefully without pulling the night watch.

Both of them had worked hard at night and slept soundly inside the tent.

I called forth Adella through holograms to have a conversation.

“Shouldn’t you check the magic circle, sis?”

“I’m fine. A wizard of my level can do this with my eyes closed.”

“Is it really okay for mana to overflow outside of the circuits?”

“Oops!”

She quickly swallowed the abalone in her mouth and adjusted the magic circle.

What a waste—I had saved it to savor slowly.

I slightly burned the roof of my mouth, too.

“By the way, is it really okay not to introduce me to your dad? After all, he’s the homeowner…”

Adella hesitated to speak.

“Adella, are you trying to live in our house…?”

“Eh? Where else should I live then! Are you telling me to camp outside?”

“I’m just kidding. So when you meet dad, what are you going to say?”

“Um… Nice to meet you?”

“And?”

“Uh, um…”

There’s no way to continue a conversation like that.

In fact, I couldn’t think of any good excuse either, so I just blurted out whatever.

After all, it’s often said that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I wondered if bringing a cat into the house might work on a similar premise.

The idea that such fantasy magic was hard to believe until one experiences it firsthand is also true.

“Anyway, if I had only brought three mana stones, it would have been a disaster. I’m glad I borrowed one more from Eborum.”

“What happens if you run out of mana?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Would Draconian Nascentia be incompletely cast? Even I can’t guarantee the results.”

After all, dragons don’t easily run out of mana with such simple spells.

“If Adella turns into Petite Adella, I guess that would at least be fortunate.”

“What if you hit the despair circuit?”

“If it goes wrong, you might end up with a four-limb deficient Adella or a Dullahan Adella…”

“Ahhh!”

Adella’s scream pierced the microphone’s volume limit.

“Are you joking?”

“Of course I am. Such high-circle magic is hard to even incompletely cast. The results will always be either 0 or 1.”

“Phew… Please don’t make weird jokes about someone’s life, okay? I’m begging you…”

She kept whining so loudly that it made me want to turn off the hologram.

Yes, just for today.

I decided to let Adella behave as she wanted just for today.

* * *

“Done! Finally done!”

Baek Bong Gon shouted.

“If you call this old man over just to do some lame light magic, you’re gonna pay!”

“That sounds quite interesting. How powerful could a 2 billion won light magic be?”

Light is a scalar magic, and the more mana you infuse, the stronger the effect becomes.

Of course, since it follows a logarithmic scale, dramatic changes cannot be expected, but if money is used to suppress it, the story changes.

At the very least, it should be able to illuminate an entire city, right?

In any case, it took a full 11 and a half hours on top of the day to infuse mana into the four stones.

With this, they could shoot mana particles directly from the power plant without going through a person’s aura heart.

9 PM.

All the power plant employees had left, and the flashlight of a patrolling police officer was visible from a distance.

I wondered if I could spend such a ridiculous amount of money in this lifetime.

I pulled out the simple formation writing tool and took a deep breath.

I slapped my cheeks firmly with both hands to awaken my senses sharply.

Well, let’s start with the preparation work.

[IWC Reminiscence]

[5th Circle Cast: Demon Lord’s Horn]

Mana particles descended and piled up to create a horn.

As the vista opened up, things that weren’t visible before flickered before my eyes.

The magic power plant viewed from this new perspective was truly calm and serene.

The constantly moving mana remained very homogeneous.

For the Mazak, I suppose such a place must seem like true paradise.

I made a request to Professor Cheon.

“Dad, could you bring the hoodie and sweatpants from the back seat?”

“The ones I bought at the department store? Got it.”

“And no matter what sounds you hear from inside the tent, please do not come in. Okay? Not at all. If anything goes wrong, I’ll scream, so please stick to this promise about anything else. That goes for Mr. Hoonjang too.”

“Uh, okay, I promise.”

“I’ll trust you all.”

I packed my clothes with white stripes and plunged into the tent.

“Adella, are you ready?”

I moved the hologram writing tool away due to possible mana interference.

I obtained an old-fashioned mobile phone that only operates on electricity to keep in touch with Adella.

[Yes.]

“Then I’ll start.”

Using my thumbnail, I pricked the tip of my finger, letting drops of dark red blood fall.

I extracted DNA to gain access to the Akashic Records.

[Foreword: Humans consist of 46 books (chromosomes), have over 30,000 sentences (genes), and contain 3 billion characters (nucleotides).]

The high dragon, Blue Dragon’s ‘Magnum Opus,’ cursed with the burden of knowledge.

Who would have thought that magic intended to destroy the world would be used to save a single cat?

[2nd Circle Cast: Cortical Reconstruction]

[4th Circle Cast: Activate Lateral Septum]

[Decryption: Neurotensin Receptor 1]

[Unique Magic – Esteria Ryu Second Style – Schadenfreude]

[5th Circle Cast: Akashic Record]

[Replication: Tzrevis Ostantin]

[Unique Magic – The Savior of the East]