Translator: Wan ED/PR: Personal Ghost
61. Rival (8)
Seong Gukeon and Jeon Mu-yeong, who parted with Jo Uisin, and moved to retrieve ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
The two’s short trip was never easy.
It was because all kinds of traps were prepared thanks to the Phantom Thief Neon warning that he was going to target the ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ beforehand.
From high-level barriers, powerful Demons’ familiars, to the traps with complicated gimmicks.
‘Unexpectedly, the pledge to conquering the otherworlds even after election is quite helpful.’
Seong Gukeon made a promise that even after election as an assemblyman he would ‘conquer SR rank otherworlds at least once a week and become the highest contributor’.
Seong Gukeon always kept that promise, but because he went beyond the SR ranks — the minimum of the promise, he gave headaches to his staff, including Jeon Mu-yeong.
When the rarity of the conquered otherworld raised, injuries were common, but thanks to that, Seong Gukeon maintained his instincts as an active Player.
Especially that he had experience conquering SSR rank otherworlds, which were dotted with all kinds of bizarre phenomena, like time distortions and space compression, unlike the common otherworlds, so it was great help in going around the bizarre traps prepared by Fomori Demons.
‘The Demons would also know that the ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ is a stolen work. Do they really hate the stolen artwork being stolen from them this much?’
Seong Gukeon coldly glared at the setting giving off a Halloween atmosphere and the door decorated with a pumpkin.
They safely avoided the last trap prepared by the Demons, which appeared in the myths, but he didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment.
When he conquered the otherworld to keep a promise with the supporters, who chose him, he didn’t have such a pesky feeling.
At the thought that thanks to the Fomori Demons — the Jin people, the guests were made inconvenient, Seong Gukeon wanted to click his tongue.
Seong Gukeon hid his feelings, and praised Jeon Mu-yeong’s effort.
“It seems we’ve arrived at the location of our goal. You’ve worked hard. The structure changed a lot from what we figured out beforehand, but you managed to complete such investigation in such a short amount of time?”
“Not at all.”
The main person, who broke down the gimmicks during this trip was Seong Gukeon, but Jeon Mu-yeong’s role wasn’t small.
If Jeon Mu-yeong didn’t check out the route to move beforehand and figure out if a gimmick existed, it would take them longer or they would be still wandering.
Jeon Mu-yeong, who heard a praise, replied with a brusque face, but the corners of his lips raised a very little bit higher than usual.
“We have safely arrived at our destination, but something is not right. We didn’t run into any Fomori Demons.”
Jeon Mu-yeong and Seong Gukeon didn’t know it, but among the Fomori Demons, who prepared the current Halloween party, all but two took shelter.
Currently, the only Fomori Demons remaining in this zone was the demon in a blue mask, the owner of the Garden possessed by the Demons.
And the leader of the Fomori Demons, one-eyed giant Balor.
There were only two of them remaining in the Garden.
That was because Balor’s Eye of Death had a wide effect range, and didn’t differentiate between friend or foe, so there was a chance that someone would be swept up in the process of annihilating the trespassers by mistake upon the activation.
‘The fact there is not even one Fomori Demon, means there exists a variable. And that probably is…’
Seong Gukeon recalled the junior, Jo Uisin, who decided to act alone, saying he saw a person he knew.
He didn’t know if he really went to meet a person he knew, but he was baselessly certain that this junior had a part in this situation somehow.
Seong Gukeon unknowingly pretended to laugh it off.
“I didn’t have a chance to try out the items we prepared to overpower Jin people, that’s a pity. Hahee!”
“I think we’re just lucky about it.”
Kieeek…!
Even while laughing energetically, Seong Gukeon was on guard against traps, and slowly opened the door.
When Seong Gukeon pushed the door, it opened lightly, making the two people nervous.
‘I don’t feel anything on this door, eh? Considering the pattern on the door and its location, this place would be no different from a treasury.’
Preparing to immediately activate their superpowers if something happened, Seong Gukeon and Jeon Mu-yeong stared at the other side of the door.
Soon, the moment the door fully opened, and the sight behind the door entered their eyes, the two were momentarily at a loss for words.
Behind the door hung hundreds of paintings.
Each of them had all kinds of frames, but the painting in each one of them was ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
“… It seems that Fomori Demons prepared hundreds of fake ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’s beforehand. It feels like they prepared quite thoroughly after receiving a notice letter.” [1]
Among the paintings in this place, only one was the real ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
Or none of them were.
But even for the two people with keen eyes, those fake paintings were close to perfection.
Painter Hong Gyeongbok’s particular seasoned brushstrokes, and the clumsy brushstrokes of Min Geurin, who held a brush for the first time in her life, were perfectly replicated.
The fakes here were much more outstanding than the fake that deceived people’s eyes in the National Museum of Modern Art for a long time.
“I can’t differentiate them at all based on the appearance…” [2]
“If we were to try differentiate the painting simply on this alone, I think painter Hong Gyeongbok-nim or Min Geurin would have to come here personally, eh?”
The two were restricted in many ways, so they couldn’t retrieve all hundreds of paintings.
Even so, the two showed no signs of fluster.
“It’s good we’ve learned the way to distinguish the genuine piece from Painter Hong Gyeongbok-nim, eh?”
There was a secret to the ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
This painting was drawn on the commission of the Player’s Association Korean Branch’s head, who ended the dark period of the Korean Peninsula called the Dark Age.
Moreover, it was a painting uniquely processed with the dyes personally made by painter Hong Gyeongbok, who was an excellent painter and Player, and painted on an ‘otherworld paper’.
As a result, unlike ordinary paintings, this painting reacted to the superpower waves and had a special effect.
“I didn’t expect ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ to only react to human’s superpower waves.” [3]
“There was no way to know it, as you usually don’t spout superpower waves in front of a work of art.”
The created painting according to the commission of the old Korean Branch’s head, was said to show a special reaction when touched by a human’s superpower wave
They couldn’t know if it was a simple result of coincidence, or his intention, but as result, the ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ wasn’t a simple painting.
It became an item that was possible to cardify, like the ones appearing in the otherworlds or produced and made by Players with superpowers.
“If it was known that ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ was an item possible to cardify, there is a high chance it would be stolen by corrupt Players, so it had to be hidden in the meantime.”
If it was known it was possible to cardify, it would be stolen much earlier, and the retrieval plan after that would be much more complicated.
‘If they used a copy superpower, it would be easy to differentiate the real work from the fake one, as it was handmade. Still, all their effort will be in vain, eh?’
Pleased with the Fomori Demon’s vain effort, Seong Gukeon smiled in a good mood.
Jeon Mu-yeong regretted seeing that smile.
It was because if they could record the current situation, that expression was good to use on Seong Gukeon’s promotional materials.
Jeon Mu-yeong suppressed his regrets and spoke up.
“Should I do it?”
“No, you save your superpower wave. Your Gwangrim superpower wave consumption isn’t good.”
Before Jeon Mu-yeong could step forward, Seong Gukeon released his superpower wave at high speed.
Paaat!
With Seong Gukeon at the center, the superpower wave gradually filled up the room and illuminated the numerous ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
When the superpower wave’s light almost reached the ceiling.
Grrr….!
A sound came out of one of the hundred paintings.
The imoogi wriggled and moved as if it was stung by a superpower wave.
Its body, covered by rocks and clouds, slithered towards the surface of the painting.
The imoogi obtained life under the brushstrokes of the great artist and new outstanding painter, and was preparing to fly up to enter the heaven.
Seeing the living and moving painting, Seong Gukeon exclaimed:
“Amazing…!”
This real painting was different from the fake, which Seong Gukeon didn’t feel any interest towards.
He felt like he understood why painter Hong Gyeongbok called the elaborate fake ‘poor doodle’.
Soaked in deep appreciation, Seong Gukeon felt an impulse in his fingertips for a while, and stretched his hand towards the real ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’.
Peuk!
As if the painting was waiting for that, it cardfied and landed in Seong Guekeon’s outstretched hand.
Seong Gukeon looked at the card border in special color of an UR rank item card, and then raised his head.
“Our goal was achieved. Let’s evacuate.”
They put their hands on the painting easier than expected.
The secret of this painting wasn’t completely revealed yet, but as the imoogi reacted to the superpower wave, it seemed that they had some thread to start with.
“… How do You think that child is doing?”
While they evacuated, Jeon Mu-yeong nervously asked.
It appeared that Jeon Mu-yeong was worried about Jo Uisin.
‘There must be a reason why Fomori Demons didn’t appear even once. And that’s probably related to that phantom thief.’
There was a high chance that the Fomori’s Demons successfully figured out the phantom thief’s location.
And Jo Uisin would be there.
Seong Gukeon spoke deliberately pretending not to know.
“Well, this side was easy, so I don’t know how that side was.”
* * *
The Phantom Thief Neon, Gu Seulbi and I.
While moving, we ran into Enemies a few times.
They were the Enemies that were drawn in when I summoned a large meadow using Ma Jinseung’s Gwangrim.
Usually I wouldn’t be very happy about encountering them, but because that bastard wasn’t arguing about phantom thieves when Enemies appeared and we fought them, I was rather relieved.
Because our group had enough combat power, there were no problems and there was no need to worry about fights.
As I couldn’t use Cheon Dongha’s Gwangrim, it was difficult to figure out the situation outside, but this was solved by Gu Seulbi.
“It seems that the one-eyed giant keeps chasing us.”
Gu Seulbi asked to excuse her, stopped for a moment and then said.
“Do you have an Insight category skill?”
“It’s not an Insight category skill. I’m borrowing the vision of the children that came here with me. I made most of them escape into the dream to avoid Balor’s gaze, but…”
I thought where the animals she brought with her when she first appeared went, but I guess they were searching the castle for her.
As compared to the Phantom Thief Neon, Gu Seulbi’s information power was lacking, it seemed she chose a way of personally coming in and searching for the information.
‘Gu Seulbi used her Gwangrim well since the 1st year, huh?’
When I was pleased by Gu Seulbi’s excellence.
“Ah, you mean those rare animals you’ve summoned? I was a bit confused when I first saw them. The phantom thief has to stay light, but there was extremely many companions.”
“You’re using phantom thieving as an excuse for not having friends?”
“Phantom thief’s friends are romance and art.”
“… You really don’t have friends, do you?”
Gu Seulbi, who said that, also wouldn’t have human friends of her age at the moment, even if she had animal friends.
Looking broadly, her master, Merlin would be her friend too, but Merlin was a thousand years old descendant, so there was an age gap.
‘Even so, Gu Seulbi became close with Ju Su-hyeok.’
The Phantom Thief Neon didn’t had any friends in PMH, but Gu Seulbi, who appeared in the 2nd year class 0, was different.
Ju Su-hyeok, who was deeply depressed because of Bang Yunseop, got involved in several incidents in the 2nd year class 0 and got up again.
During that process, there was Gu Seulbi.
‘Because of that, Gu Seulbi was harassed by Ju Su-hyeok’s fans.’
As the 2nd year class 0 was extremely small in number, it was even more so.
Gu Seulbi gave those fans bad time in return, but it was a bitter episode rather than a refreshing one.
The kid, who had dropped a remark about Gu Seulbi, graduated from the same middle school as Ju Su-hyeok, and it hung on my mind that Ju Su-hyeok was very sad when he found out.
“Speaking of our location right now, it seems we’re very close to the Danu gods tribe’s treasure.”
Gu Seulbi touched the grass wall as she spoke.
As I focused behind the wall, I sensed a faint superpower wave that was different in nature from the one spouted by the Fomori Demons.
“I don’t have much interest in the Danu gods tribe’s treasure.”
“Ah, okay. You leave then. I wanted to check it out for a moment, so can you open this wall for a moment?”
This much was easy to control with a superpower wave, but I confirmed before I opened the grass wall.
“There are no other Demons around?”
“Ye. It looks fine.”
Hearing those words, I activated my Gwangrim.
〈Using Gwangrim ‘Player’s Trajectory’.〉
〈Using the target character’s Gwangrim ‘Meadow Summoning Shout’.〉
The moment I raised my voice and the grass wall parted way, I heard the system message.
〈Skill ‘Power of Fate’ activated.〉
*~*~*
[1] “… It seems that Fomori Demons prepared hundreds of fake ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’s beforehand. It feels like they prepared quite thoroughly after receiving a notice letter.” — Jeon Mu-yeong sentence.
[2] “I can’t differentiate them at all based on the appearance…” — Jeon Mu-yeong sentence.
[3] “I didn’t expect ‘Imoogi’s Rise To Heaven’ only react to human’s superpower waves.” — Jeon Mu-yeong sentence.
Translator’s note: Imagine how much spite Jo Uisin had to accumulate to call his Playable Character ‘that bastard’ and shame him for not having friends.
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